Ruben Rose - Retrograde Amnesia
by ThatBoyDanny
Summary: (Trans boy!Ruby) (Faunus!Ruby) Join Team RWBY in this slice-of-life story with a bit of a twist! Ruby suffers a serious injury with no memory of how it happened. Why is Weiss so uncomfortable talking about the accident? Why is Ruby so uncomfortable around anyone outside of his team? Read and find out! [White Rose story] [White Rose - Slow Burn / Bumblebee - Established]
1. Opening Authors Note

**General Information On My Story:**

 **Sorry this is long but please read it as it gives a lot of context for my story!**

 **This story is going to follow Volume 1's canon. I kind of think of this as an AU since I'm only following V1's canon. I will take very, very few elements from Volume 2, but Volume 3 is totally irrelevant as far as this story goes…This story will feature a trans boy and (wolf)faunus Ruby.  
**

 **His name is "Ruben" but he mainly goes by Ruby as a nickname started by his sister which stuck. He'll mostly be referred to as Ruby except for very certain occasions where another character calls him by his full name. But in narration it will be "Ruby" So don't get confused! :p**

 **I figured it's best to just explain certain things so you won't be confused when you read:**

 **Vital Festival Tournament - It's still an upcoming event. I won't follow the V3's canon of how the event actually went down. I'm going to do it the way I imagined it.**

 **Winter Schnee – Weiss' sister is still a character. However… As much as the "older sister" plot twist was enjoyable… I prefer the idea of the "spiteful little sister" trope who's jealous that she isn't the one inheriting the business (after all, RWBY is all about clichés!) So keep that in mind if/when she makes her appearance or is mentioned.**

 **Team SSSN – This story isn't about them. Nothing against them I just don't have much interest in including them in the story. Forget everything that they contributed to Volume 2's canon because it's not included in my story.**

 **Ruby and Yangs Family - Forget everything you know about their parents/family. I'm going to do something totally different with it.**

 **I had this idea in my head for a very long time. You're going to see something and go "wait that happened in V3's canon with a different character!" I know ): But I still want to do this idea, dammit! I hope you understand and don't mind.**

 **This story is going to really be "Slice of Life". I love RWBY so so so so much but my favourite episode was V1E10. Y'know the one where they set up their room and Weiss yells at Ruby for basically nothing and they make up… I thought that episode was so cute (: I really wanted more of those school days shenanigans… So that's my main focus for this story. I'm not sure about how to write action scenes. I'll definitely test out some chapters of it and if I think it turns out okay, I'll add them in. But I'm not really about adding in unnecessary drama or action if I don't have it completely fleshed out in my head first.**

 **The general updates for this story is totally up in the air. I don't like to force creativity because I've been down that road with drawing and… let me tell you… I have drawn some ugly things. I've had this story in my head for years now. But that's part of the problem. TOO MANY IDEAS. I really want to make sure they all flow together smoothly and I'm totally proud of the chapters I write before I upload.**

 **My story is going to start off a little unorthodox for a "Slice of Life" story but it's all part of the plan.**

 **So I hope you enjoy it and please leave reviews because they make me so happy (: And I'm soooooo open to tips and criticism. I've never written before so I would really appreciate anyone who can point out mistakes I'm making.**

 **The first official chapter is written and will be uploaded ASAP.**


	2. Chapter 1

**(Trans Boy! Ruby) (Wolf Faunus! Ruby)**

 **Try to keep that in mind as it's not something I want to constantly bring up!**

 **My first story so expect mistakes!**

 **I do not own or profit off of RWBY. All credit goes to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Waking Up

Weiss Schnee was sitting in a chair next to a hospital bed where Ruben was lying. He had been lying in this bed unconscious for almost 2 weeks now. After suffering a severe injury during battle, doctors informed team RWBY that there was a strong chance of him waking up but the chances of him regaining his memories were slim to none. Team RWBY hadn't left his side since. Hopeful that he would surely wake up, Blake and Weiss took turns attending class and keeping their teams grades up to make sure this incident didn't put them behind. They didn't want Ruby to be overwhelmed when he awoke and have so much catching up to do. Yang however had stayed by his side non-stop. It took a lot of persuasion by Blake to get Yang to come back home to the dorm room at night to get some proper rest. Weiss decided to stay by Ruby's side while Yang was away because the thought of Ruby waking up alone and scared in the hospital with no memory was too tragic for her to bear.

She held his hand and put her head on the side of his bed while she dozed off. Unaware of the light stirring that was going on next to her.

Ruby slowly opened his eyes and found everything to be quite blurry. On top of that he could feel a tube down his throat which was making him feel like gagging. As his eyesight adjusted he saw a white haired girl sitting next to him with her head on his bed while she loosely held his hand. He slowly removed his hand from her grip to rip the tube from his throat. He couldn't help the slight gagging sound he made. The noise reached Weiss' ears and awoke her from her light dozing. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Ruby looking back at her.

"Ruby! You're awake!" Weiss said, her voice cracking slightly as if she were about to cry

"Do you… Know who I am?" She asked with a bit of concern and uncertainty

Ruby spoke for the first time in over a week, his voice a little weak "Weiss…" he said smiling but quickly added "uhm… right?"

Weiss shot up and grabbed Ruby hugging him tightly

"Yes, you dolt! Oh, Ruby I'm so happy you're awake! The doctors weren't sure if you were ever going to wake up and they said if you did you might not retain your memories... Oh! I need to go get a doctor and let them know you're awake!" Weiss quickly ran out of the room before Ruby could even respond.

Left alone he examined his body. His stomach was tightly bound in bandages and he noticed an IV in his left arm. He always hated IV's. The thought of a needle constantly poking into his vein made him feel sick. He reached with his right hand to remove the IV when he suddenly noticed… His right arm was missing! His heart rate shot up which was audible by the heart rate monitor. Just then the doctor came in with Weiss behind her.

"What's wrong with him? Why is his heart rate so high?" Weiss asked anxiously

Before the doctor could respond Ruby began shouting

"Where's my arm?! What happened to my arm?!"

"Ruben, I need you to calm down." The doctor began

"You suffered a severe accident. You lost your arm, your brain is badly damaged and you also sustained a very serious injury to your stomach. You're lucky to even be alive right now."

None of this calmed Ruby or his heart, which was still beating at a fast pace.

"You need to try to calm down. I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to try to answer them to the best of your abilities, okay?"

Ruby took a long breath and answered "Aright, I'll try"

"Good. Now tell me your name."

"Uh, Ruby~ No, Ruben. It's Ruben... I think"

"Do you know you're last name?"

Ruby had an idea but it seemed more like intuition than actual knowledge. He was a little worried to answer and be wrong but after a brief moment of hesitation he answered.

"Rose. Ruben Rose."

"Okay, how old are you and when is your birth date?"

"I'm… 15 and my birth date is… I don't know…"

Weiss and the doctor both looked concerned at his answer but the doctor continued anyways

"Do you know what city we're in?"

"No… I have no idea."

The doctor sighed then stood up and looked to Weiss

"Well… He's doing far better than we had expected. The fact that he remembers his name is something. But it appears his short term memory may have been damaged. His aura is back up though, which is great. Give it a couple days of recuperation for his stomach to heal, we'll closely monitor his brain in this time, giving him memory tests to ensure that he's able to retain the information he's given. Once that's all done we can clear him for Robotic Limb Replacement."

The doctor sent her well wishes to Ruby and walked out of the room.

Ruby then spoke up

"Just because I don't know what city we're in, suddenly I have memory problems? Yeesh. I want a second opinion" He joked

"Ruby… You didn't even get your age right" Weiss frowned "You're 16. Not 15. And you don't know when you're birth date is?"

"Birthdays are dumb" he said sticking his tongue out

Weiss sighed but smiled. It was such a huge relief just to be talking to Ruby. Her eyes then went wide as she stood up, pulling her scroll out of her pouch.

"I need to call your sister to tell her you're awake! I just hope she answers, it's so late. But I'm sure she'll rush over here to see you regardless of the time" She rushed out of the room once again with her scroll in hand, leaving Ruby alone once more.

'Blake and Yang…' Ruby thought to himself. 'I remember them' he smiled.

* * *

 **So here's the full story!**

 **I know it's a bit much for a "Slice of Life" but I've had this idea for years and it's always been for my Trans Boy Ruby character.. idea.. thing...! We'll definitely acknowledge that part of his life soon along with his social anxiety! Weiss and Ruby aren't established yet but Blake and Yang are.**

 **Thank you for reading and I'd love to hear what you think in the reviews. Criticism and tips are always welcomed as well!**

 **Thank you so much for reading, the views alone make me really happy :$**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Memory Tests and Robotic Limbs

A week had passed since Ruby woke up. Yang was so eager to see her little brother as soon as she got the call from Weiss that Blake had to physically keep her from jumping down the cliff side and running to the hospital on foot. She stayed up until 6am when the first airship took off into town and rushed Blake out the door, not that she needed to. Blake was just as eager to see Ruby as Yang had been. Dating Yang for about a year now, she saw Ruby as her own little brother and him being the only other faunus on their team… they had a bit of a special bond.

When Yang had finally seen Ruby she was ecstatic to see that he remembered her. At first she thought that, other than his stomach and his missing limb, he was completely okay. But over the course of the week she started to see the extent of Ruby's brain damage. Ruby was already a bit forgetful… But the accident had taken it to a new level. He was repeating things sometimes, wondering where something was 30 seconds after he put it down… And the 'memory tests' weren't going so well. Every morning the doctor would come in and give Ruby 3 words to remember, 15 minutes later she would ask them what they were and Ruby always forgot. Ruby insisted that he just didn't care about the tests and that "I've always been bad at tests and you know this!"

Yang was still happy just to have her baby brother smiling and talking with her again. It was a little hard to have to have the "daily medication" conversation with Ruby.. But the doctor insisted that he needed to continue to take his anxiety and anti-depressants. The doctor was convinced Ruby was still suffering from general anxiety because of the way his heart-rate monitor always sped up whenever Weiss entered the room or came too close to him. Though, Yang knew better. Still, he did suffer from anxiety and depression from a very young age. Yang guessed it was just wishful thinking to assume that was on the list of things he had forgotten. At least Ruby was pretty understanding about it. Especially since he was already having trouble sleeping at night, the anti-depressant really helped knock him out every night.

The doctor also had to have a serious discussion with team WBY about the severity of Ruby's brain damage.

"You'll need to keep an eye on him. If Ruben's brain takes any more serious damage it could be fatal."

The colour quickly drained out of team WBY's faces

"But! Just so long as he doesn't sustain any unnecessary blows to the head he should be fine!" she smiled trying to be reassuring and lighten the mood "Hopefully he's not the clumsy type, right?" She joked

Team WBY shared a concerned look before they looked back at Ruby. He smiled and waved at them, accidently knocking his comic book over the side of his bed. As he leaned down to pick it up, he banged his head against the tray table left next to him. And once more when he lifted his head up.

"Of all the people… it had to be the clumsiest dolt on this planet" Weiss said shaking her head.

It seems Ruby's memory lost went back at least half a year. Probably a full year but it's not definitive. Weiss was already spending all her time with him tutoring him and trying to re-teach him all the things he had forgotten. Although she did it with much more patience and kindness than she had the first time she taught him all of the material. Weiss and Yang were practically at war with each other to spend the most time with Ruby. As much as Yang wanted to push the heiress away and assert her 'older sister' dominance… she didn't. She knew that Weiss felt guilty for what happened to Ruby. No matter how much Blake and Yang (once she came around… with some long talks with Blake…) tried to insist that it wasn't her fault but the person who had attacked her and Ruby, they knew that Weiss still blamed herself for Ruby getting hurt. Ruby had noticed there was enough tension behind 'the incident' that when he randomly brought it up and saw Weiss' face, he immediately dropped it and decided to change the subject.

Nonetheless, his memory problems weren't serious enough to merit a longer hospital stay and his stomach had healed enough that he could leave and be treated for it at home. He was cleared to leave. All that was left was one more night and the next day he would get his new robotic limb.

* * *

It was early in the morning, the day of Ruby's release. Yang walked into Ruby's hospital room which was filled with roses of every colour… Despite Ruby's insistence that he did not want flowers, Weiss continued to bring a full bouquet of roses every day that she came to visit him (which was every day that week). Yang was carrying a fresh pair of clothes for Ruby now that he could finally change out his hospital gown and a bag of cookies.

"Hey lil' bro! How's it going?"

"It's gonna be going great as soon as we get my new arm" He replied as he continued to watch cartoons on his scroll. It was a bit strange at first to see him gush over "how much had happened on his shows" while he was asleep… When he was gushing over something he already watched and squealed about over a month ago. But his team also found it cute to see him geek out all over again.

"Well, today's the day!" she beamed " C'mon lil'pup! Sit up and I'll help you get changed, Blake and Weiss are waiting downstairs, we're going to go to the RLR wing together"

"Wait, what? Just give me my clothes and I'll get dressed myself. I really don't need your help"

"But Ruby, you STILL get stuck in your binder sometimes… without an arm it's going to b-"

"God! Yang! That's the LAST THING I'd want help with" Ruby said suddenly feeling embarrassed and upset. He couldn't even meet eyes with his sister, instead opting to stare at his scroll which had finished playing the cartoon he was watching and was now displaying a black screen

"But it's me, Ruby. I'm the one person you should trust with this kind of stuff" she said deflated.

Ruby rolled his eyes and grabbed the clothes from his sister while glaring at her.

"Turn around, stand in the corner. IF I need your help I will ask for it. And IF I ask for your help you're expected to keep your eyes away from me until I say so. Okay?"

Yang sighed heavily but complied. She knew when it came to things like this the best thing she could do was be blindly supportive. She made the mistake once of telling Ruby she was the only person who understood and Ruby got really upset, claiming she had no idea how he felt or what he went through. He didn't speak to her until she apologized and admitted she was wrong, which didn't take long.

When Ruby finally did ask for help, he told Yang she was free to look at him. He had already gotten his shirt, cape, pants and shoes on. All he needed help with was buckling his belt. Yang was a little surprised at how much he accomplished one-armed. But then she remembered who she was dealing with. Ruby could probably climb a mountain one-armed if someone implied he'd need help to get it done, purely just to spite them and show them how capable he is.

Yang helped him finish off his belt and then held out her hand with two pills in it

"What is this? I already took my meds" Ruby said

"Pain killers. You should take them. The doctor said that the limb replacement is going to hurt when they connect the limb to your nerves. A lot. Ruby…" she started giggling a bit "I can't even tell you how much she went on about how painful it's going to be, it was like, way over the top. I think she was getting off on it, to be honest"

Ruby turned up his nose at them

"Don't wanna."

"Ruben~" Yang sighed

"I'm a tough little boy and I don't need no pain killers for nothing! Plus celebrities get hooked on them and we all know I have an addictive personality"

Yang rolled her eyes and threw her arm over her little brother dragging him out of the room while she rubbed his head between his two faunus wolf ears

"Today you're a 'tough little boy' but yesterday you were telling Weiss you were a 'sensitive little boy' "

"I can be both!" he quickly shot back

* * *

Yang and Ruby reached the RLR wing and quickly found Blake and Weiss waiting for them. Weiss ran up to Ruby and quickly told him the 3 words he was in charge of remembering that day.

"Bee, Cube, Slide"

"Ouuu I like these ones~ I think of a cubed bee sliding down a slide" Ruby said smiling

"Hopefully you'll actually remember them for once" Blake chimed in

"Hey! I was close yesterday!"

"Ruby… The words yesterday were Remedy, Chair and Pin, you guessed Squeegee, Monkey, Ball…" Weiss said exasperated

"It's because the words are usually so boring! I'm an exciting boy who needs exciting words in his life!"

Just then a nurse walked up to them

"You're Ruben Rose, right?" she asked

"Yep yep yep"

"Alright, follow me please"

"My friends can come too, right?" He asked worried.

"Of course they can" she smiled

Ruby was lying in a hospital bed, feeling like he was going to be lying in hospital beds for the rest of his life. The top of his shoulder was being held down by the nurse as the doctor readied the robotic limb into place.

"Alright Ruben, this is going to be very~ painful. You took your pain medication right?" the doctor asked

"Uhm… Yeeeeaaapp!" He lied. Blatantly.

"Alright on the count of 3 we're going to connect the limb to your nerves."

"3… 2…." BANG. She had connected the limb as Ruby proceeded to make a series of strange noises as he attempted to suppress his screams of pain.

"You went on 2! What happened to 3?!" He yelled

"I didn't want to give you too much time to worry" the doctor laughed

"Yeah, that one second made all the difference" He said, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, I'm going to need you to try to slowly move your fingers, starting at the tips"

Ruby looked down at his new limb and slowly attempted to move his fingers, it wasn't hard. For the past week he had been using his 'phantom arm' to pick things up only to find them still laying in the place he had left them. He still knew how to use the limb he no longer had. The tip of his robot fingers slowly started twitched and in no time he was moving his full fingers and then opening and closing his hand.

"Very good, you're catching on faster than expected" the doctor smiled

"he always does…" Weiss lowly murmured

The rest of team RWBY were happy to see Ruby with all his limbs back but still felt a pang of guilt looking at his face. Misconstruing his concentration for apathy… That is until he looked up at them with a beaming toothy smile…

"THIS IS SO RAD! I'm like that kid from that one show! Even though he never got the Robo-arm when he actually lost his arm… just had a dumb little flower… OH! OH! I'm like that guy from that game! Oh.. Except he has two robo arms… Quick! Someone chop off my other one and let's go for twosies!"

Ruby continued to ramble on like that even as they left the hospital and headed for the airship. As they reached the air docks Weiss turned to him and asked

"Ruby, what were the 3 words?"

Ruby stared at her blankly in silence

"Ruben…. At least try" Weiss said. She looked so concerned and Ruby knew that he had no idea what the words were. He didn't want to see her face fall flatter so he went with

"I, Love and You" he gave her a cheeky grin and hugged her fully with two arms for the first time in a long time.

Weiss sighed loudly but found she didn't care enough to ruin the moment by pressing him for the answer, she knew he had forgotten them anyways.

* * *

 **There's chapter 2! Idk how I did this. I was pretty tired after work but for some reason felt like writing :)**

 **Thank you to the faves/follows! They make me sosososo happy :) !**

 **And all the views! I'm so glad people are interested enough in this story to even give it a chance! I was so worried people wouldn't be into the idea so thank you! :)**

 **The next chapter may take a bit. I struggle really badly to write Blake and Weiss cause they use big words and they're smart _**

 **But hopefully I'll manage! We're slowly getting to the more "Slice of Life" part of the story :)**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Returning to Beacon

* * *

-On the Airship-

Yang and Blake were currently standing at one of the mini-vending machines that came stocked on the airships. Despite eating an entire bag of a dozen cookies, Ruby was still craving sweets.

"He seems to like his new arm" Blake said as Yang put change into the machine

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. He's probably going to try to upgrade the crap out of it. He watched too much Inspector Gadget as a kid so I wouldn't put it past him to try and give his hand a literal finger gun and probably a toothbrush in one of the fingers… cookie dispenser in the arm…"

Blake giggled as Yang pushed the buttons on the machine and leaned down to pick up the chocolate bar it dispensed.

"I'm still worried about him though" Yang continued and she put more change in the machine for another chocolate bar. "I'm starting to double-think him being back at Beacon. What if he gets hurt? What if he hits his head during a fight? What if-"

"Yang." Blake started as she put her hand on her girlfriends arm, "You know better than I do that when Ruby wants something, no one can stop him from getting it. I know he's your little brother and you want to protect him from getting hurt but you know he wouldn't be happy if you pulled him out of school and took him home. Since I've met him all he's talked about is becoming a huntsmen and being like the heroes in those fairy-tales. We'll all be there for him; we'll all look out for him. He won't get hurt again."

Yang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. "Yeah… You're right" she said as she smiled at Blake. "You always know exactly what to say!" she said as she pulled her in for a bear hug

"Yeah, yeah" she said, hugging her back. "Let's just get these sweets back to your brother"

When Blake and Yang got back to Weiss and Ruby they found Ruby asleep with his head on Weiss' lap.

"Awww! He looks so peaceful sleeping" Yang said as she looked at Ruby, but slowly her face became concerned "Almost like… he's in ANOTHER COMA." She frantically ran up to him and began shaking him "RUBY! RUBY WAKE UP!"

Ruby quickly woke up "What?! What's happening?! What happened?!"

"What in the world is wrong with you?!" Weiss yelled as she glared at Yang

"I thought he was in another coma!"

"God, Yang, you can't do that every time I fall asleep!" Ruby said as he glared at her and slowly lifted his head from Weiss' lap

"Ruby, how are you possibly sleeping after you just woke up from a week long coma?" Blake asked

"I had a big day…" Ruby replied sheepishly as Yang handed him his chocolate bars.

Shortly after, the announcement came over the speakers that the airship was about to dock. The doors opened and Blake, Weiss and Yang stepped off but shortly heard a loud BANG. They quickly turned around and saw Ruby rubbing his forehead. He saw them staring and him and quietly said "I walked into the wall"

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled "You can't afford to be such a clumsy oaf anymore!"

"Give me a break Weiss, I just woke up! I'm still out of it"

"That's no excuse! Am I going to have to buy you a helmet so that I can live peacefully without worrying about you dying because you walked into a wall?!"

"Give him a break Weiss" Yang interjected as she threw her arm over Ruby's shoulder protectively "Come on Ruby, team JNPR are going to be eager to see you again"

"But you're not staying to converse with them for too long! You and I are going to the library. I want you to be completely caught up as fast as possible" Weiss said sternly

Yang and Ruby both groaned at that.

* * *

They reached the water fountain in the courtyard where they had arranged to meet with JNPR. Just as expected they were already there, eager to see Ruby.

"RUBY! Do you remember us?!" Nora shouted as soon as they arrived

"Uhhh yeah" Ruby began and then started to point at them one by one "Nora, Ren, Pyrrha and… Joe!"

"It's Jaune!" Jaune shouted

"Gonna have to take your word on that one" Ruby joked as he punched Jaunes arm. Ruby forgot about his new robot arm and Jaune was knocked to the ground by the surprising amount strength of Ruby's new limb

"Oh shoot!" Ruby said as he ran over and helped him up. "I'm really sorry! I didn't know this thing was so strong!"

"No, no it's okay, totally fine!" Jaune said as he tried to keep up a tough persona, despite the tears he had in his eyes.

Weiss sighed "Alright, this has been a lovely reunion but Ruby and I need to go study, he has a lot of catching up to do" she said as she grabbed Ruby's hand and began pulling him away, eager to get him started on his studies. She didn't want her teams grades to drop, least she have to explain to her father why her team is no longer the 'top second years at beacon'

Yang quickly grabbed Ruby's other arm and pulled him back. "Hey, why don't you cool it Ice Queen? He JUST got back!"

"He's missing nearly an entire year of curriculum! Do you think the knowledge is just going to fall out of the sky and land in his head?!" Weiss shot back as she glared at Yang

Ruby decided to put on his leader boots and take control of the situation

"Yang, it's cool! Weiss is right, I need to catch up" He said as Weiss grinned smugly at Yang. Yang glared back but Blake grabbed her arm and began pulling her away.

"Go on you two" Blake said "We'll see you at lunch"

And with that Ruby and Weiss waved their goodbyes and left for the library. Once Ruby and Weiss were out of ear shot Pyrrha spoke up

"So, how's he doing?"

Yang sighed, "He's not doing bad. But not very good. His memory is really weird and he's struggling to keep his grip on new information. The doctor also told us that anymore hard blows to the head and it could be fatal"

"But he's optimistic" Blake added "He's still his normal happy self. His mood clearly hasn't been affected by this"

As they continued talking Yang began to become concerned by her own thoughts. She knew she was going to have to find some alone time with her brother to make sure he was actually doing okay and wasn't just putting on a façade for his team so they wouldn't worry. He did that too often, internalizing his own grief and negative emotions because he didn't want to bring anyone down.

Blake couldn't help but notice Yang lost in her thought and held her hand to try and ease whatever was troubling her girlfriend. She knew this whole Ruby situation had taken a serious toll on Yang and decided she would try and take her mind off of it.

"Hey, Yang?" Blake said

"Hmm?"

"Wanna play that ridiculous card game?"

"Wow, really?! But I thought you hated it?!"

"Eh, I don't mind it. Do you guys want to join us?" Blake asked looking to JNPR

"Sure!" Jaune replied

* * *

-The Library-

Weiss was drilling facts into Ruby's brain which seemed to go in one ear and right out the other. She tried to remain patient, she knew that for once, it wasn't Ruby's fault that he couldn't retain the information she was giving him.

"Alright Ruben, I'm going to write out a mini-test on the information I've just given you. I know this is hard for you but try your best, okay?" she said as she smiled at Ruby

Ruby blushed a little. It wasn't often that Weiss spoke so gently to him. As she began to work on the test he decided he wanted to get her to smile again.

"Hey, Weiss? Do you like jokes?"

"No." she replied without missing a beat as she continued to write out his test

"Why did the bike fall down?"

"…"

"Cause it was two-tired."

"…"

"…Cause it was two-tired."

"I heard you."

Ruby stayed quiet for a second and Weiss thought it would stay that way… Until…

"I have a cat joke."

"Stop."

"Just kitten"

Ruby laughed at his own joke as Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Here." She said as she handed him a page with questions. "Work on that while I write up some more questions." She hoped this would earn her some silence while she focused on the rest of his questions.

Ruby decided to take his loss and start writing his test. Weiss glanced over at him and noticed he had written his name at the top corner but signed it 'Ruby'

"Ruben. You can't sign your test papers as 'Ruby' you need to write your full name."

"Ahhh, yeah" Ruby smiled as he erased his name and re-wrote it. "I forget that Ruby is short for Ru-" Before he could continue his thought he began softly laughing but it quickly turned into a louder and more hysterical laughter.

"What's so funny?" Weiss asked as she looked at him with one eyebrow raised

"My.. My name is" Ruby tried to say but kept being interrupted by laughter. He rubbed the tears out of his eyes, "Oh my god, Weiss, I thought of something really funny to say to you" he said between laughter "but… for the first time in my life, I thought about what I was gonna say before I said it.. and now I'm laughing" he said practically crying as Weiss stared at him with a straight face

After about a minute he slowly calmed down and took several deep breaths

"Okay, okay, my joke… my joke is… My name is Ruby, it's short for Ruben and it's long for Roo" He said and he began laughing just as hysterically as before.

Weiss tried not to laugh, she really did. But she couldn't help the snort that escaped her as she smiled and covered her mouth attempting to hide the fact that she genuinely thought what he said was funny but soon enough the laughter escaped her lips.

Ruby mentally patted himself on the back for being able to make Weiss smile AND laugh.

"That's a terrible joke, Ruby" Weiss said as soon as she managed to control herself

"But you love it" Ruby said as he smiled at her

Weiss shook her head and continued to write the questions as Ruby went back to work on his answers. He found that he really didn't remember any of the information Weiss had just spent the past 30 minutes pounding into his head. He wasn't sure if it was the amnesia or the fact that the entire time Weiss was tutoring him, he couldn't stop staring at her face and admiring how pretty she was. He then realized that there might be a serious chance of him failing his classes and disappointing his team if he couldn't focus on anything besides his tutors pretty face.

He sighed and asked Weiss if she would mind explaining the information to him one more time before he tried to run through the questions. Weiss knew she had to be patient with Ruby and was grateful that he was at least genuinely trying, so she agreed to run through it one more time. Although, she couldn't figure out why Ruby refused to look at her direction while she explained it to him again.

* * *

 **Just wanna say a huge thank-you to the faves/follows and views. They mean a lot to me :)**

 **And also a huge thank you to the person who reviewed my first story and encouraged me to continue writing. I don't think I've properly thanked you yet :$**

 **Oh, shout out to those couple people viewing this story from Chile! Chilean Pride! (My spanish is terrible so please don't try to speak it to me, though ^_^')**

 **And shout outs to anyone who recognizes where the name joke came from.**

 **See you all on the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello, I just want to quickly say thank you again to everyone who has faved/followed/viewed my story. It really does mean a lot to me! I started this story because since I was in high school (2012 grad) I so desperately wanted to see a trans character exist somewhere. The very, VERY few that did had such depressing stories… It made me sad to watch them, honestly. Whenever I talked about how I would like to see a trans character pop-up in my favourite shows… there's always a bunch of people who hit me with the "Well if you care so much then make your own! Creators shouldn't be forced to cater to you!" So finally I decided "you know what? Fine. I will do my own trans character and story"**

 **Yeah… this story isn't really "my own character" because I'm not really ready to flesh out my own unique character and world. But one day I will. I really want to create media one day that's actually inclusive of LGBT and MOGAI people without making us a sob-story.**

 **So yeah, your support really means a lot. Thank you for reading my story and as always, I'm super open to criticism or any advice y'all have!**

 **Also I've added one more fact to the first page on info for my story. But you know, everything past V1 should basically be forgotten so it's not super important to check out as long as you keep that in mind.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY (I keep forgetting to include this, hopefully I don't get sued…)**

* * *

Chapter 4: First Day Back

-Beacon Library-

Ruby and Weiss were sitting in the library as they had been for the past hour and a half. Weiss had given Ruby countless tests in that time and, surprisingly, Ruby had been doing very well. Once he managed to pay attention and give the study sessions his complete focus, Weiss was impressed by how he managed to retain the mass amount of information she was giving him.

"Weiss… Are we done yet?" Ruby moaned with his head face-planted on the desk as Weiss finished grading the last test she had written for him.

"I suppose so. After all, you did ace the last three tests… and this one too" she said as she placed the paper in front of his head

"I'm really proud of you Ruby, I knew you could do it" she said smiling.

Ruby kept his head face-planted on the desk as he felt the blood rush to his face and mumbled a "Thank you"

"I think you deserve a reward! Let's go to the vending machine, I'll buy you whatever bag of candy you want. And that pink soda you're so crazy about" Weiss said as she started packing up

"CREAM SODA!" Ruby shouted as he stood up in a flash

"Be quiet you dunce! We're in a library!" Weiss scolded

"heh.. sorry~" Ruby said sheepishly as he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck

Weiss rolled her eyes and ignored the immediate thought that popped into her head as she observed him. Quickly grabbing her stuff and leading Ruby out of the library.

Weiss couldn't help thinking how cute Ruby was when he got nervous. She always found him somewhat attractive. He wasn't tall, dark and handsome… at least… he wasn't tall. But as time went on and Ruby's personality became more known… Weiss found herself becoming more and more attracted to him. When she first met him she had made it very clear that she didn't like or trust him. When she first questioned him about his involvement with the "White Fang" and he acted like he had no idea what she was talking about, she thought he was putting on a convincing "dummy" performance. But over time she learned that Ruby really was that dense. He had grown up on a recluse island and honestly had no knowledge of the White Fang before coming to Vale.

And after witnessing Ruby's kind-hearted and helpful nature… She couldn't ever imagine him wearing the mask of a monster, killing innocent people and stealing from her family. Ruby wasn't even capable of killing a bug despite how much he rambled about his hate for them and their 'scratchy little feet'.

Ruby didn't even know anything about Weiss' family when they had first met. Having never used dust with his weapon before, the Schnee name wasn't something that came up much in his life. Weiss found Ruby to be a breath of fresh air in her life. Someone who only saw her as 'Weiss' instead of an heiress, someone who saw her as a friend.

It was the end of their first year that Weiss started to notice her feelings for Ruby were growing beyond "friendship". She had immediately repressed those thoughts. Ruby wasn't someone she could be with for various reasons. For one he was a faunus. Her family would NEVER approve of her dating a faunus. She still hadn't even told her family about two of her teammates being faunus. And even if he wasn't a faunus, he's a no one. His family isn't important and a relationship with him wouldn't benefit her family's company.

Weiss had continued to ignore her feelings for Ruby. But after the accident… she found it a lot harder to deny how she felt. She knew that Ruby liked her the same way. She had caught him staring at her multiple times and the way he took after his sister with his awful flirtatious jokes which he only used on her. But Weiss knew she couldn't give in and refused to go along with him whenever he flirted with her.

* * *

As Weiss and Ruby left the library, Weiss pulled out her scroll and began texting Yang and Blake to meet them at the vending machines before lunch started. Yang texted back almost seconds after the message had sent, saying she would be there as soon as they wrapped up their final game with JNPR.

When they arrived at the machines, Ruby eagerly pointed to which candy he wanted as Weiss gave him a bill to put in the machine. As Ruby began putting the rest of Weiss' change into the drink vendor for his cream soda, Team CRDL showed up.

Ruby had been bending over to retrieve his drink when Cardin kicked Ruby's butt, knocking him over. Weiss immediately stood up to them

"What do you think you're doing?!" Weiss shouted as she glared up at Cardin.

"Back off, Ice Queen. This is between me and the dog over there" Cardin said as he shoved Weiss aside.

Ruby stood up and walked up to Cardin

"What's your problem?" He said as he stared up at Cardin who was so much taller than him that he practically towered over him.

"I don't have a problem but I hear you do… How's your head?" Cardin replied as he smacked Ruby upside his head

Weiss immediately went to step in but Ruby put his hand out and stopped her

Cardin continued his taunting "I heard that you're running on borrowed time. A few more hits in your noggin and your down and out for the count. So I'd be careful if I were you. I can't be blamed if you die because I playfully slapped your head" he said as he smacked Ruby once again upside his head.

Ruby finally spoke up "Hey, smack me one time and you're gonna get it…"

"Oh really?" Cardin said as his teammate snickered in the background "What exactly am I gonna get?"

"I'm gonna punch you. Right in your dumb, stupid face" Ruby said as he glared at him

Cardin and Ruby stared at each other and after a few seconds of the silent showdown Cardin slowly raised his hand and slapped Ruby once again upside his head. Ruby, with no hesitation whatsoever, immediately raised his right hand and punched Cardin in the face. Rose petals flew from Ruby's arm as it collided with Cardin's face. Cardin's entire body was thrown back and he was knocked out, on the floor. The rest of Team CRDL looked at each other and then took off running. Ruby was still standing with his fist out as he stared in shock at Cardin's unconscious body which has flown a full 3 feet away from him.

"Oh. My. God. I cannot believe I did that" Ruby said in disbelief as he slowly retracted his hand

"Well you said you would do it. He asked for it" Weiss said

"Yeah, but still! And I used my right hand!" He said as he ran over to Cardin. Just as he did Yang and Blake arrived to find Ruby cradling Cardin's head in his lap

"Uhmmmmm…. What's going on?" Yang asked

"Cardin was picking on Ruby so he knocked him out"

"BY ACCIDENT!" Ruby shouted

"Nicely done Rubes! Now come on! Let's go get lunch!"

"What?! No! We can't just leave him here! His team totally ditched him and he's unconscious! Someone has to stay here to make sure he wakes up, it's like, super bad for you to be unconscious for too long! Heh heh, I should know right~?" Ruby said as he continued to cradle Cardin's head

"Ruby, we can just call a nurse or something-" Yang began, but as she was speaking Cardin began stirring and sure enough, his eyes slowly fluttered open

"Hey sleeping beauty" Ruby said as he pet Cardin's hair "I guess true loves kiss broke the spell"

"WHAT?!" Cardin shouted as he jumped up but stumbled from the head rush he received from standing too quickly

"DID YOU KISS ME?!"

"No, but he took care of you after your teammates ditched you so how about you act more thankful?" Weiss said

"Thankful? To the guy who's the reason I was knocked out?!"

"YOU'RE the reason you were knocked out! If you hadn't started a fight you couldn't finish-" Weiss said but was interrupted by Ruby who quickly covered her mouth and pushed her back slightly, he had just finished fighting with Cardin and really didn't want another to begin

"It's okay Weiss, come on Blake, Yang.. Let's just go get lunch"

* * *

-Cafeteria-

"So… How'd the study session go?" Yang asked as they ate

"Quite well, actually. Ruby is doing very well with his study sessions. Hopefully the information sticks" Weiss replied

"Yeah, Weiss even bought me candy cause I did so well!" Ruby said with a wide smile

"Awww Weiss, that's so sweet" Yang said teasingly

"Yeah, Weiss is really sweet" Ruby said smiling at Weiss

Weiss could feel the heat rushing to her face and replied with "Quiet, you! That was only a reward for your hard work. I didn't do it out of the kindness of my heart, so don't get the wrong idea!"

Ruby rolled his eyes "Geez, chill out, uh… Uhm… Princess.. of snow… Snow Princess!" He said pointing his fingers at her as he turned to Yang "That's what we call her, right?"

Weiss' face was completely red by this point.

"No, Ruby… It's Ice Queen, not 'Princess of Snow'" Yang said laughing

"Well, I like Snow Princess better. It sounds cuter" Ruby replied

"It's not supposed to be cute" Yang said between her laughter

"Then what's it supposed to be?"

"You know… it's a nickname cause of how cold and distant she is-" Yang began but was interrupted by Ruby punching her arm

"Don't start mean nicknames for our teammates!"

"Okay, okay geez" Yang said rubbing her arm

Blake watched the event unfold from behind her book. The way Weiss' face went red at Ruby defending her and giving her a 'cute' nickname. Blake was always quietly watching and had realized long ago that Ruby and Weiss clearly had something going on. As close as her and Weiss had gotten, she still hadn't gotten Weiss to open up to her about her feelings for Ruby. And every time she tried to talk to Ruby about it, he got so flustered that he couldn't form full sentences. Blake shook her head, maybe she had read too many romance novels but she really wanted to play matchmaker and get Ruby and Weiss together.

Team RWBY finished their lunch and were on their way to afternoon classes when they bumped into Team SSSN in the halls.

"Hey guys!" Sun said as he walked up to them.

They exchanged their hello's and Sun turned to ask Ruby how he was doing but instead was met with Ruby's back as Ruby attempted to slink away from the conversation without anyone noticing. Sun was taken back at first but was used to Ruby's aloofness by now. Team SSSN was always trying to get Ruby to spend some "Bro-Time" with them but Ruby was constantly blowing them off. On a good day, they'd get a "hello" from Ruby. But most of the time it was exactly like this.

Weiss sighed and walked over to Ruby, grabbing his arm and dragging him on their way to class.

"When are you going to stop being so anti-social? You can't just walk away from someone when they speak to you. It's rude."

"Well, I don't even know those dudes. I don't wanna talk to people I don't know."

"You don't remember them?" Weiss asked as she grew a little concerned

"Nah"

They walked in silence for a little longer before Ruby spoke up

"Hey, Weiss."

"What?"

"Thanks for tutoring me earlier. It was really nice of you to teach me things I should already know"

"Don't say that. Don't act like it was a chore for me to help you, Ruben. I did that because I wanted to"

Ruby smiled and he and Weiss entered the classroom, Weiss leading him to his seat and sitting next to him.

"Why do we sit at the front of the classroom, this is where the dweebs sit" Ruby said and Weiss' only response was a glare. Yang and Blake showed up shortly after and class began.

Ruby showed a great amount of understanding of the material he was being taught. And Weiss was surprised to find that Ruby was actually genuinely interested in the class for a change. He was listening intently and even took notes. After class had ended Team RWBY began walking back to their dorm to relax for the rest of their evening.

As they were walking back Ruby spoke up

"So…. Do grimm ALWAYS disappear after they die?"

"Yes Ruby. No one has ever been able to preserve any piece of grimm. It's part of the reason why our knowledge of their anatomy is so limited" Weiss replied

"I'm gonna do it."

"Do what?" Weiss said raising an eyebrow at Ruby

"I'm gonna be the first person to preserve a part of a grimm's body."

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes

"What?! You don't think I could do it?"

"No one has been able to do it, Ruby! It's impossible! What makes you think you'll be able to?!"

"Because I'm amazing. And I always do what I say and I say that I'm gonna do it! You're really not going to believe in your leader, huh?"

"Not when it comes to a foolish, childish pipe-dream" Weiss said

"Yeah, well, you're gonna be so sorry when I do it. I'm gonna tell everyone that you didn't believe in me. Weiss.. my own partner…. Weiss… My best friend… Wei-"

"Hey, I believe in you Ruby!" Yang said throwing her arm around her brother

"Thanks Yang" Ruby smirked as he wrapped his arms around her waist

Yang wrapped her other arm around Ruby and Ruby went limp as Yang dragged him across the floor. Weiss shook her head but as she stared at Ruby… She couldn't help but wonder if maybe he actually did have a plan to preserve a piece of a grimms body. But a louder more reasonable thought told her it was just Ruby being Ruby and saying stuff to get a rise out of her.

* * *

-Team RWBY Dorm Room-

Since Ruby had done so well in studying and paying attention in class, Weiss allowed him to relax for the rest of the night. He was playing video games with Yang while Blake read a book in her bed and Weiss was sitting at the desk working on an essay that wasn't due for another 2 weeks.

Ruby and Yang had been playing for the past 2 hours and it was starting to get late. Weiss still had to change Ruby's bandages before he went to sleep.

"Ruby get up, no more games"

"What? Why? You said I could chill since I was such a good boy today"

Weiss rolled her eyes "Yes, and you did 'chill' but you need to change your bandages so come into the bathroom."

Ruby sighed and stood up following Weiss into the bathroom

"Okay lay down while I get everything ready."

Ruby complied and laid down on the cold tile floor. Weiss turned around and sat down next to Ruby with the bandages ready. Ruby lifted his shirt enough to expose his stomach

"Ruby, just take your shirt off it'll make it easier"

Ruby was a little taken back by this but was quick to respond

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Weiss glared at him as her face grew a little red and replied "Will you just take it off?!"

Ruby glared back and raised his voice

"No! The floor is cold enough! Just do it already! I don't need to take off my shirt. You perv"

"Excuse me?!"

Yang who had overheard the situation decided to step in and try to save her brother

"Weiss, just change his bandages and stop trying to get him out his clothes."

"How dare you imply something so indecent?! I'm doing this to help him you imbecile! Get out!" She said slamming the door on Yang

Weiss sighed and decided she didn't have the energy to argue with him over this anymore and started changing his stomach bandages. She was happy to see the wound was gradually healing.

"Turn over, now."

"What? Why?" Ruby said laughing a bit

"Because I need to change the bandages on your back"

"Wait, what?!" Ruby said standing up to look in the mirror

He saw the wound on his stomach and then turned around to find a similar wound on his back, as if whatever struck him went right through to the other side

"Oh my god. How am I alive right now?! This is sick" He said in disbelief as he stared at his wound

Weiss rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm pushing him back down to the floor so she could change the bandages on his back

"You're alive because you're incredibly lucky. Somehow the weapon barely grazed your internal organs. It's honestly a miracle you survived it"

"Weapon? So someone did this to me?"

Ruby couldn't see Weiss' face from the position he was in but her silence said enough.

"Turn back around. I'm going to remove the bandages from your face."

The few bandages on his face were for the few deep cuts and scrapes that hadn't healed when his aura was down. The doctor had said that they should be healed by now. Ruby turned around and sat up and blushed as Weiss leaned into him and held his face with one hand while removing the bandages with the other. Weiss was pleased to see each cut and scrape gone as she removed each bandage… Until… She removed two bandages, one above and below his lip and frowned as she saw a deep scar going across his lip. The only wound other than his stomach that didn't heal properly. A permanent reminder on his face of the accident.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked as he saw her face fall. He stood up and walked over to the mirror as Weiss refused to meet his gaze.

"Wow! This makes me look kinda… badass!" Ruby said excitedly

"You like it?!" Weiss asked in disbelief

"Well, yeah! It's unique and cool" Ruby said smiling at her

Weiss smiled slightly back at him, mostly in relief. But she still felt immense guilt for what she saw as 'ruining his face'

"Are we done now, Weiss?"

Weiss sighed and nodded to him as she gathered everything and cleaned up the bathroom.

Ruby ran out of the room to show off his scar to his sister who seemed just as excited as Ruby. Weiss shook her head as she closed the bathroom door and changed into her nightgown.

Team RWBY got into their beds and slowly, one by one started to fall asleep. Except for a certain heiress who couldn't fall asleep no matter how still she laid. She couldn't get her mind off of Ruby. When she eventually did manage to fall asleep, she was plagued by nightmares. Reliving that terrible moment where Ruby had been hurt. She woke up with a start and stared up at the bed above her. A piece of her started to doubt if the past week had happened, if Ruby ever really woke up from the coma. She stood up and peeked over Ruby's bunk and sighed a huge sigh of relief when she saw him sleeping. She frowned slightly at his right arm which was visible in all its metal glory with the tank top Ruby slept in. She pet his hair slightly and admired him for a moment longer before she felt okay enough to go back to her bed with the knowledge that Ruby really was back. And despite what had happened, he was okay.

She knew that one day she would have to explain to Ruby what happened. She was the only one who was there to see it happen and she was the one responsible for it. But she was scared that Ruby would blame her. She was scared that Ruby wouldn't ever forgive her for what happened to him. But she wouldn't be able to hide it from him forever. He was already curious about it and it wasn't fair to keep avoiding his questions.

Weiss sighed and rolled over in her bed. A piece of her mind reminded her that this was Ruby she was talking about. Ruby, who had never, ever been mad at her in the past. Who she would yell at for no reason and he would never let it get to him. Who she had always mistreated and he was always ready to forgive and forget. A larger piece of her mind told her that she didn't deserve to have someone like Ruby in her life.

Weiss didn't sleep soundly that night.


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Hello! I can't remember when I last updated but I think it was a while ago, so... I'm sorry for that haha. I was working back-to-back 12 hour shifts mothers day weekend and then I needed like an entire week to recover from that mess LOL**

 **Anyways this chapter is stupid long IMO but I really didn't want to cut anything out or save shit for later chapters because I felt this worked. And it makes up for the long wait!**

 **QUICK FACT: I was asked about Rubens appearance. I just want it to be made super clear. This Ruby is canon Ruby. It is literally just canon Ruby who identifies as a boy. I don't want anyone thinking this Ruby is some huge, grown man. It's still cute little Ruby. Just a cute little boy instead of a cute little girl.**

 **All that being said... Thank you so much for sticking around and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Keep in mind this IS a slice-of-life story. The growing plot in the background WILL be built but it will be slow-burn.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Chapter 5: Hand-Holding 101

Weiss was the first to awake the next day. She had gotten barely any sleep and when the sun had risen she found no reason to continue trying. Today they only had one class and it was in the late afternoon so they had decided to have their first team mock battle since Ruby had recovered. Weiss stood up on her bed to peek over Ruby's. He was still soundly sleeping with a small bit of drool pooling on his pillow. He was lying on his side putting all his weight on his left arm. Weiss decided to try and wake him up by lightly shaking him.

"Ruby, come on, get up."

"No." He put his finger on Weiss' forehead and pushed her back off her bed.

"Ruby!" She shouted as she once again stood on her bed

This time Ruby got up and picked Weiss up under her arms and dropped her back on the ground. Weiss made a sound of indignation and began to shout again. Her yelling awoke Blake, yet amazingly Yang was still snoring through it.

"Weiss, it's still early, just let him sleep a little longer" Blake said as she rubbed her eyes

"UGH! Fine! I'm going to go shower first then." She glanced back up at Ruby and saw him lying back down in the same position she had found him in. She stood on her bed one last time and nudged Ruby's shoulder

"Ruby, roll over at least. You're sleeping on your good arm and it's going to be stiff."

"Both my arms are good" Ruby mumbled but rolled over nonetheless.

When Weiss came out of the bathroom she was surprised to see that Ruby and Blake were already awake. Ruby was sitting at the desk eating a pack of cookies while Blake was attempting to wake Yang.

"Are you seriously eating that garbage so early in the morning?" Weiss asked as she walked over to Ruby and began rummaging through the desk drawer.

"Time isn't real, Weiss. I can eat what I want, when I want."

Weiss rolled her eyes and then put a sheet of paper in front of Ruby. Ruby looked at the paper then back at Weiss and asked

"What the hell is this?"

"It's a memory test. The doctor gave it to us; she said to make sure you complete one sheet a day, first thing in the morning."

"That's dumb~ Come on Weiss, don't make me"

"Ruby, it's for your own good! Just please do it and don't argue with me"

Ruby glared at Weiss and Weiss glared back at him. They had a silent staring contest for a few more seconds before Ruby sighed and picked up a pencil

"Ah, damn you, Weiss. You know I'm not a fighter."

As Ruby started his memory test sheet, Weiss left the room to go get coffee and tea for the team. When she returned Yang was gone, probably in the bathroom getting ready and Blake was sitting on her bed, completely dressed, reading a book.

Weiss sat down next to Ruby and handed him his coffee as he finished off the last question of the test.

"Weiss that test was really dumb. I had to identify a chair for fucks sake"

"Ruby! Watch your mouth! And those tests are important! Your short term memory is really bad"

"Pbbbffftttt, whatever. So you ready to get your ass kicked by me today? Cause I'm gonna kick it"

"Don't get boastful before the fights even begun. You're almost a full year behind so I doubt you'll be able to even keep up with me" Weiss said with a smug face

"Now who's getting boastful?" Ruby teased

* * *

Team RWBY were standing in the battle court that they had reserved. Weiss was standing next to a white board with a marker.

"Okay, first things first. We list off the rules of the mock battle." Weiss was about to write down the first rule when Ruby snatched the marker from her hand

"I'M team leader so I want to write the rules!"

Weiss rolled her eyes "Fine, just make sure you don't scribble it! It needs to legible"

Ruby jotted down "#1" and began writing as he spoke

"Rule #1. Weiss is not allowed to try and kiss me at any point during the fight! Afterwards… is okay"

Weiss immediately snatched the marker from him

"Let's get the real rules ready AND NOT THIS NONSENSE!" She said as she erased Ruby's first rule.

"Already trying to weasel your way out of that rule" Ruby said as he shook his head.

Weiss began listing the numbers and Ruby grew impatient with an itching to get the fighting started already.

"Come on Weiss! The rules are dumb and no one needs or wants them."

"The rules are important Ruben!"

Yang sighed and came between them putting her arm around each of them.

"Weiss, Ruby is right. The rules aren't really important. Ruby just let you be in charge of them to give you a power trip."

"That's not true!"

Ruby unsheathed his weapon as he spoke "Come on Weiss! Let's just fight already! I can't wait any longer!"

"Ugh, fine." Weiss said. As Ruby began walking away Weiss quickly pulled Blake and Yang back.

"Listen you two; take it easy on him and no headshots!"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Ruby doesn't need to be coddled."

Blake smacked Yang's arm "We'll take it easy on him, Weiss. Don't worry."

* * *

Although Ruby had started off a bit rocky, he quickly got the hang of it. Yang, Blake and even Weiss found that they couldn't take it easy on him even if they wanted to. He had managed to deplete both Blake and Weiss' aura fairly quickly. The only person he struggled to keep up with was Yang and even though Yang's aura was slightly higher than Ruby's, their match was declared a draw. They made their way to the cafeteria for lunch as Ruby gushed to Weiss about all the techniques he had used and asking her if she was impressed, which she scolded him for how reckless some of his moves were. But admitted she was impressed nonetheless. Once lunch was finished team RWBY made their way to their only class for the day. They were to take notes before heading off into the safer areas of the forest to collect insects for some type of research. As Weiss was copying the notes she noticed that Ruby was not. But when she actually looked at him she saw that he was squinting his eyes and leaning forward on the desk as much as he could.

"Ruby? What are you doing?"

Ruby jumped when he heard Weiss' voice "Uh, I'm doing school. What are you doing?"

"Are you squinting?"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaa? Nah. No, there was… just.. I was thinking about something and it made me make that face."

Weiss rolled her eyes and handed Ruby the first page of her notes so he could copy them while she continued on a new page.

Team RWBY were sitting in the Emerald Forest pretty secluded from the rest of their classmates. They were having a lot of difficulty finding this particular insect. A type of cockroach that can be used to make a pheromone that can attract certain types of grimm. Ruby and Yang were digging through the dirt with their fingers while Blake sat beside Yang slowly picking at the dirt with one of the small garden shovels they were given for the assignment and Weiss shouted orders that they weren't digging well enough despite the fact that she refused to dig herself.

"I GIVE UP!" Ruby shouted as he threw his hands in the air. "The bugs are wise to our antics. They knew we were coming for them and they left."

Yang sighed "Let's just bring them ants. It's basically the same thing, right?"

They then saw Jaune coming towards them with a small clear container in his hand.

"Check it out guys!" He said as he came over to them and opened the container. Team RWBY peered in and saw that he had already caught all the cockroaches the assignment required.

"Awww Jaune, are you gonna to introduce us to your family?" Ruby asked with a teasing smile. Weiss snorted while Blake and Yang full out laughed

"Ha ha. Very funny, Ruby. Well, while you and your team are sitting out here in the dirt all afternoon… me and my team are going to the arcade." And with that Jaune left team RWBY to wallow in their failure.

"Goddamnit.. Now we REALLY have to find those fucking roaches" Yang said with gritted teeth.

"Yeah… Let's split up. You take Blake and go look around the direction Jaune came from. That might be the hot spot for cockroaches. Me and Weiss will look over there, I don't think anyone-"

"Weiss and I" Weiss corrected

Ruby threw his head back as he rolled his eyes and dramatically groaned. "Whatever! Let's just go. I won't be able to sleep tonight if Jaune finishes this assignment and we fail it."

Ruby watched as Yang and Blake took off, Yang wrapping her arm around Blake's shoulder and Blake returning the gesture wrapping her arm around Yang's lower back. 'Those two are really close lately… When did that happen?' Ruby thought but then remembered his assignment and took off with Weiss. They walked through a couple shrubs before Ruby claimed he found the perfect spot. Weiss was skeptical until Ruby plunged the small shovel into the ground and 3 roaches immediately ran out. He quickly caught two of them in the container while the other managed to run its way to freedom.

"Ohhh sick! It was THIS close to touching my fingers with its little feet, Weiss!" Ruby said as he held his fingers as close as possible without them touching. Weiss always thought he took that gesture far too seriously. But she also thought it was cute the way his tongue poked out of the side of his mouth as his fingers shook from the strain of trying to keep them from touching. Weiss shook her head from these thoughts as she spoke up

"How did you know they were there?!"

Ruby slowly stood up and walked right up to her.

"It's my faunus senses. I can hear them running through the dirt. I can hear everything Weiss. Even when you murmur something to Blake and Yang behind my back." He said with the straightest, most serious face Weiss had ever seen. Weiss' thoughts went into hyper-drive 'Did he hear me tell Blake and Yang to take it easy on him? Is he upset about it? And he waited this long to say something?! Has he been mad at me sinc-'

"I'm just playing" Ruby laughed, his face breaking into a large smirk "it was just a lucky guess. And hunters intuition! That's why I'm team leader" he said as he looked at Weiss with a stupid expression, one eyebrow raised and the other lowered. Weiss couldn't suppress the giggle that came from her mouth as she lightly punched his right arm… Which was immediately met with a loud "CLANG". She quickly retracted her hand grabbing it and hissing in pain.

"Weiss! Are you okay?!" Ruby said as he reached over and grabbed Weiss' hands with his own. What was meant to be a reassuring squeeze felt more like a death-grip with his new robotic limb. Weiss verbally yelped in pain and Ruby retracted both his hands. He gazed down at his hands as he realized what he had done. His faunus ears drooped and his expression fell. To Weiss he looked exactly like a kicked puppy and although it was no one's fault… Weiss felt an incredibly heavy wave of guilt rush through her. She reached over and grabbed his hands, both of them. She held them softly in her own and Ruby slowly lifted his head to meet her gaze

"Ruby. It's fine, I'm fine. It wasn't your fault. I acted without thinking and you… should probably practice your hand-holding a little more" Weiss said as gently as she could, smiling softly at him.

Ruby smiled a wolfish grin and Weiss already knew what was coming

"Are you gonna be the person who helps with that?" He asked raising his eyebrows up and down at her. Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes she was about to pull her hands away but Ruby quickly closed his grip before she could.

"Wait, Weiss seriously. Will you help me? Like this…" He said as he grabbed Weiss's hand with his robot hand as gently as he could. His hand felt nothing like it used to. The soft, warmth that Weiss and grown used to all those times Ruby grabbed her hand was replaced with a rough, cold and hard grip. But despite how cold his metal hand felt… Weiss felt a rush of warmth spread through her hand, making its way up her arm and to her face where it settled into a light blush. Weiss watched as Ruby stared in pure concentration at their hands. He squeezed her hand as gently as he could with his new hand.

"Does that feel okay?" He asked as he met her gaze.

"It.. it feels fine Ruby"

"it doesn't hurt?"

"No. It's-"

"Woah woah woah!" Yang shouted as she made her presence known. Weiss quickly retracted her hands from Ruby's

"Are we interrupting something? I didn't think hanging around some bugs was a really romantic setting but whatever floats your-" She was cut off by Blake smacking her side a little too hard.

"We managed to find 6 bugs" Blake said holding up their container.

"Sweet! Me and Weiss found 2 so that's perfect!"

"Weiss and I!" Weiss corrected

"Yeah yeah, the point is… ASSIGNMENT COMPLETED! Let's get these ugly little bastards back to campus so we can chill for the rest of the day!"

"Ruby, why don't you and Yang take the bugs back to class? Blake and I will meet you two at the dorm room." Weiss said

Yang, Blake and Ruby all shared a confused glance but agreed nonetheless. Once they got back to campus Yang and Ruby split off to go hand in the assignment while Blake and Weiss walked towards the dorm.

After about a minute of silence Blake's curiosity finally got the better of her and she spoke up

"Are you going to explain what's going on?"

"I need you to help me with something. Something with Ruben…"

'Full name' Blake thought. Weiss probably used it the most out of everyone on the team but it was always a little strange when she did. She only usually did it when she was in a serious mood. 'Oh my god. What if she's finally ready to have the 'Ruby Discussion'! I mean they were holding hands in the forest… something must have happened and she's coming to me to confide in me about her feelings for-"

"BLAKE!"

Blake jumped, Weiss had stopped walking and was now glaring at her.

"Did you hear anything I just said?!"

Blake sighed "No.. uhm, sorry I was… distracted?" She said sheepishly

Weiss rolled her eyes "I said! I need you to help me with Ruben. I think he's having problems seeing. He was squinting at the board today. I want you to help me make an eyesight test before they get back"

"Wait, seriously? That's it? That's why you wanted to talk to me?"

Weiss stared at her as she tried but failed to figure out what Blake could have possibly thought she wanted to discuss with her. "Yes? What else could I have possibly wanted?"

"Uhm… You're right! Let's just get back to the dorm and get the test ready"

* * *

Blake and Weiss had made a perfect homemade eyesight test thanks to Weiss' quick research on her scroll. When Ruby and Yang got back they were greeted by Weiss and Blake standing in the center of the room, clearly waiting for them.

"Alright, what's going on?" Yang asked

Weiss walked around them and grabbed Ruby as Blake grabbed Yang and pulled her in front of the window while Weiss sat Ruby in a chair on the other end of the room, facing Blake and Yang. Blake whispered something into Yang's ear and Yang started giggling. Ruby was getting anxious and hated feeling like he was the only one not in on the joke or whatever was going on.

Blake handed Yang a long sheet of paper, Weiss turned off the main light and Blake shined a small lamp directly onto the paper Yang was holding. Ruby squinted a little but immediately noticed the letters on the paper. Yes, he'd seen this before…

"NO!" he shouted as he stood up. "MY EYES ARE FINE; THEY'RE PERFECT! WE ARE NOT DOING THIS!"

Weiss stormed over to Ruby and forced him to sit back down. She stood behind him with her hands on both of his shoulders.

"You are doing this Ruben or so help me! I will not speak to you for a week outside of assignments and I won't go out for milkshakes with you for a month."

Ruby gulped. He slowly turned around to meet Weiss' gaze and seeing her expression confirmed that she actually serious about her threats. Although Weiss and even Blake/Yang knew that she was bluffing. They remembered the one time Ruby had called her on one of her ridiculous threats and that was the last time she ever attempted to use empty threats on Ruby. Though, it seems she was counting on the fact that Ruby had forgotten that encounter and she thanked the lord that it appeared he had.

Ruby slowly nodded and Weiss smiled keeping her hands on his shoulders she began to direct him. Ruby thought Weiss was enjoying this a bit too much, 'she really does get power trips. Imagine if she was team leader. A terrifying little evil dictator..' Ruby thought

"Okay, Ruben! Start reading from the top to bottom, left to right."

Ruby nodded and read the first 2 lines with no issues. But by the third line he was squinting.

"I can't read it."

"Just try!"

"Try what?! They're all blurry blobs!"

"I didn't work hard creating this entire test for you to just give up after the first two lines!"

"God! Fine! Q, B, Winky Face, 5, P, another Q, annnnnddd that last one looks like a dogs paw. Like from Blue's Clues. Remember that show? Anybody?" he said looking around

Weiss sighed and turned the lights back on.

"Welp, sorry little bro. The prognosis isn't looking too bright. You're blind." Yang said

"What?! No I'm not! That was an amateur test and it means nothing. No one could possibly read that." Ruby said crossing his arms

"Excuse me?!" Weiss shouted "Amateur?! I made that test using the best resources available!" She pushed Ruby off the chair "Yang. Sit!" Weiss went over and turned the light back off as Yang sat down. Blake held up the sheet of paper and Ruby stared in disbelief as Yang read every single letter off the paper with no struggle at all. Not even when it came to the ridiculously small letters at the very bottom.

"Oh my god, I'm blind" Ruby said as he slid down on to the floor and held his head in his hands. Weiss turned the light back on and walked over to him

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of people wear glasses!"

Ruby deflated even more and was now lying on the floor with his face in the carpet. Yang sat down next to him and pet his head.

"Don't be so down lil' bro. I'll call Uncle Qrow tomorrow and once he sends us some money we can send you to the eye-doctor."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" He mumbled with his face still in the carpet.

Weiss took pity on Ruby and decided to try to make him feel better. As cliché as it was for a wolf-faunus… Ruby loved going on walks with Weiss. He was always begging her to walk around campus with her but she was usually too busy to agree.

"Ruby" Weiss interrupted. "Would you like to accompany me on a short walk around campus before curfew?"

Ruby quickly shot up

"Really?! I mean, yeah! Yes! Let's go!" Ruby shouted excitedly as he jumped up and down. He and Weiss took off leaving Blake and Yang alone.

"What do you think they were doing in the forest when they were alone?" Blake asked

"I don't know. But I don't like it."

"Yang, come on. You're not still against this are you? You're the one who teases him the most about his crush on Weiss but you get upset the second we discuss it seriously."

"Yeah, because that's what big sisters do! We tease our siblings about their crushes but that's how it's going to stay. A one-sided crush. Weiss doesn't like him the way he likes her! And even if she did, you know she wouldn't let anything happen. Her family is trouble and he's already nearly died because of her family-"

"Yang! You know that wasn't her fault." Blake shot as she glared at Yang. "He likes her and he's willing to put up with the baggage that comes with that. You should be supportive instead of being spiteful about it."

"I'm not being spiteful! I'm looking out for my little brother! The last thing he needs is to be involved with someone whose entire family hates him. It's just a crush, Blake. He'll get over it."

"This has been going on since our first year. It's past the point of being a crush, Yang. He's happy when he's with her and she's actually happy when she's with him. Can't you be supportive of that?"

"Yeah, they're happy now! At school, where Weiss is safe from her family. But as soon as she returns to her real life, you know she's going to leave him behind."

Blake sighed and started gathering her things for a shower. Yang peeked up at her from where she was lying on the floor.

"Are you mad at me, Blakey?" She asked quietly

"No." She said as she glared at her. "I'm going to shower" she said as she walked over to the bathroom. Yang stood up to follow through the door but was met with Blake's hand shoving her face out of the bathroom.

"I'm showering ALONE." She said as she slammed the door

"Yup… She's mad" Yang sighed.

* * *

Weiss and Ruby were lying on the grass in an empty field. It was almost curfew so they were pretty much completely alone except for a few stray students walking around campus. Ruby had laid his cloak on the ground, the only way he talked Weiss into lying down with him. They were lying on their backs staring up at the mass amount of stars. They had talked about their studies, Ruby's recovery; Weiss had even mentioned how proud she was of Ruby for how hard he had been working to keep the team afloat despite his serious condition. Hearing Weiss' praise was probably the greatest encouragement Ruby felt he could receive. It was always so hard to get Weiss to be genuine with her emotions without a backhanded remark following it. He cherished the rare moments like this where he felt like the ice around Weiss' heart was temporarily melted.

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you know any of the consolations?"

Weiss snorted "Dolt, do you mean the constellations?"

"heh heh, yeah, I guess I did" Ruby said as he rubbed his head.

Weiss giggled and began to point out all the constellations she could find while Ruby gazed in amazement.

"That's one of the things I love about you Weiss, you're so smart and know so many cool things. You're the first person I met who actually knows consolations"

Weiss rolled her eyes at Ruby's mistake but felt her face heat up at the compliment.

"Weiss? Can we practice hand-holding again?"

"Ruby, I wasn't actually serious about you pract-"

"I know! But… I think it's a good idea! I need to practice holding stuff in my robo-hand without destroying it!"

Weiss kind of thought Ruby was just making excuses to hold her hand but she sighed and reached over to hold Ruby's robot hand in hers.

"Does it feel… bad? Holding my metal hand?" Ruby asked in a quiet voice

Weiss' heart broke hearing the insecurity in Ruby's voice. "No. It feels different.. but it's still you Ruby. It feels like I'm holding YOUR hand, not just a cold piece of metal. And that won't ever be a bad thing"

They laid in silence a little longer as Weiss felt the heat rush to her face and her heartbeat quicken as she noticed to romantic setting she was in. Laying under the stars and holding another person's hand. It was far from the first time she felt this type of romantic setting with Ruby. She remembered the first time it had happened.

* * *

They were sitting on the balcony of the school together one night at the end of their first semester's exams. Yang and Nora had thrown a party for the end of exams and after mingling for a little bit, Weiss caught Ruby sneaking away. She decided to be a good teammate and leave with him so he wouldn't be alone. Sitting on that balcony with Ruby was one of the first times Weiss had let her guard down and spoke openly with Ruby about how much he had impressed her and how she was grateful that he had found her in the forest during initiation. Ruby was a blushing mess as he tried to assure her that he was the one who should be grateful for having a partner as smart as her. He had went on a 5 minute rant about how kind Weiss was for helping him with his homework and how patient she was for putting up with him and how she was his favourite person at Beacon. Weiss was left a blushing mess by the time he was finished.

It was during his ranting that Weiss began to notice why she felt how she did when she was around Ruby. She found that he was so genuine about his emotions and had no shame spilling them to certain people… and she was grateful to be one of the people who got to hear Ruby's unfiltered thoughts, considering how much he shut down around people he didn't feel comfortable around… which was pretty much everyone outside of the team.

Weiss felt safe around Ruby. Ruby was the least judgmental person she knew. He was the only person she felt secure enough to let her guard down with. And he never took advantage of that. Ruby only wanted to be close with Weiss with no hidden intentions, which was something Weiss had never experienced before. Everyone she had met before Beacon would only get close to her so they could gather information on her family. Weiss didn't think she would ever find someone like Ruby ever again. In a world that knew her name, her family, her face… and hated her for it… Ruby was like a shining beacon. When she was with him, she was just Weiss. Not a Schnee. And the best part was that Ruby loved Weiss for Weiss and Weiss knew it with the way he ranted openly to her about all of her qualities that he loved.

As much as Weiss appreciated Ruby, the thought of getting close to him scared her. At first she thought of him as an untrustworthy faunus. As she got to know him, she found him a little charming and endearing… in a very strange way. She even allowed herself to freely think about his attractive qualities. She had justified these thoughts by convincing herself that she was simply thinking… from an objective, shallow, point of view.. that Ruby was sort of cute.

Getting to know him more and more only made this worst. Combining his 'objective' attractiveness with a personality that she had actually grown to love… she realized that she was developing feelings for him. Feelings that were quickly becoming stronger than a friendship. That night on the balcony, before they went back inside, Ruby pulled her into a gentle yet firm hug as he told her how much she meant to him. Weiss squeezed back and slowly pulled back to stare in his eyes. Ruby stared back into hers

"Weiss… I…"

Just as Ruby was about to finish his thought the door to the balcony blew open and Yang pulled them back inside to get back to the party.

* * *

"Hello~ Weiss-Weiss!" Ruby shouted bringing Weiss back into the present. Ruby was leaning over her staring down at her "Finally! You good? You were like, a million miles away"

Weiss blinked as she blushed a little, realizing how this position must look at someone walking by "I'm fine!" she shot back as she shoved Ruby back onto the ground. She stood up and began dusting off her clothes "We should get back." She said coldly. She didn't like staying in these romantic settings for too long with Ruby. It kept her up at night with fantasies that she'd always felt ashamed of the next day. Ruby sighed and picked up his cloak from the ground as he stood up. Weiss began to walk away until

"Hey Weiss?" Ruby called. Weiss turned around and looked at him

"You look …really… pretty… in the… moon light…."

Weiss stared at him for a moment in silence and then turned around and left, not bothering to wait for him. Ruby was left alone as he decided to not follow Weiss. When she was out of earshot he quickly smacked himself in the forehead with his robot-hand before collapsing in the ground in pain. He laid there staring at the stars as the throbbing in his head slowly faded.

'You look really pretty in the moon light.' Ruby mocked himself 'You couldn't have said that like 2 minutes earlier while you still holding her hand?! God, I suck so badly at romancing people. And I started off so smoothly with the hand holding and the stargazing' Ruby groaned and slowly stood up and made his way back to the dorm.

Weiss was making her way through the campus grounds with a furious expression on her face. 'How dare that stupid dunce speak to me like that?! As if we were on a date or something.' Weiss felt her face heat up a bit at that thought. She got back to the room to find Blake and Yang in each of their bunks asleep. She went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and began to undress.

Ruby walked into the room and went straight for the bathroom. He felt like a failure and was embarrassed of his horrible attempt at flirting with Weiss. 'She probably sees me as another Jaune when I say stupid shit like that' he thought as he turned the handle and swung the door open to find Weiss standing in just her bra and panties. She stared at him in shock and Ruby felt a large smirk slowly spread on his face as his eyes went wider than ever before

"Woah." Was the only thing he managed to say

"RUBEN! CLOSE THE DOOR!" Weiss shouted

"Huh? Oh! Yeah right!" Ruby said as he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He then went back to shamelessly staring at Weiss.

"I MEANT WITH YOU ON THE OTHERSIDE OF IT!" Weiss said as she glared at him

"OH! YEAH OF COURSE!" Ruby shouted as he quickly turned around, face planting into the door as he did. He groaned and rubbed his face as he opened the door and slipped out. Yang was wide awake, staring at him and smiling as she spoke

"Real smooth, lil'bro"

Ruby was mortified and even Blake was giggling under the covers of her bed. Ruby's face was redder than his cloak as he quickly jumped into his bed, not bothering to change his clothes. He only removed his pants and buried his face into his pillow wishing he could just fall asleep and forget everything that had just happened, although he couldn't get the mental image of Weiss standing in her underwear out of his head. Nope, that was forever burned into his mind.

Weiss had quickly thrown on her nightgown but stayed in the bathroom thinking of what had just happened and the way Ruby had shamelessly eyed her body from top to bottom. For the second night in a row, Weiss didn't sleep well. Although this night was filled with fantasies of her and Ruby.

'I need to spend less time with him.' She concluded as she repressed the 6th fantasy in a row that she had of her and Ruby together.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you find any horrible spelling/grammar errors. And advice is always welcomed! I'm a huge noob when it comes to story writing so I'd love to get some pointers if I'm doing anything wrong!**

 **Thank you so much again to anyone who reviewed/faved/followed/viewed my story! You guys are great :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**AN: So here's the next chapter! The next one shouldn't be as long of a wait since I've already got a lot ready to write for that chapter.**

 **Thank you for reading/reviewing/faves/follows!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own or profit off of RWBY**

* * *

Chapter 6: Two Sides of the Same Coin

The last few days where an awkward mess for Ruby and Weiss. They had both apparently decided to start avoiding each other. Weiss was desperately trying to distance herself from Ruby so she could avoid her feelings for him while Ruby was in a similar situation. After he had seen Weiss in nothing but her lacy white underwear, it was all he could think about every time he saw her. Even glancing at her made the mental image of Weiss in nothing but her bra and panties flash vividly in his mind. It made his face flush red and made him feel sweaty. He cursed his brain for being able to remember that so clearly as opposed to the important stuff he actually needs to remember.

Yang and Blake had quickly taken notice to the sudden change in Ruby and Weiss' relationship. The morning after Ruby had walked in on Weiss; she left for breakfast without waiting for anyone on the team and even left for class before everyone else. She was slinking off during free time declaring she had "things to take care of" and wouldn't return unless she had to. Ruby was clearly bothered by it but also made no efforts to fix the problem which was what worried Yang and Blake the most. They watched the situation unfold for another 2 days and after deciding that they were both too foolish to settle it themselves, it was time to step in.

"Okay the best course of action would be for me to handle Weiss and you speak to your brother" Blake said as her and Yang walked through the school grounds after classes.

"Sounds good! If I know Ruby, which I do… He's probably back in the dorm room by now playing video games"

"And I'll message Weiss telling her I need to speak with her immediately about something important."

"We'll find out what the deal is between them, fix it, force some apologies if we have to and everything will be back to normal!"

"And maybe they'll admit their feelings for each other…"

"Blake." Yang said as she stopped and turned to Blake as red slowly started to fill her eyes

"Yang." Blake retorted as she threw both her arms around Yang's neck and gazed in her eyes lovingly

Yang slowly started to calm down; Blake knew exactly how to play her to get what she wanted.

"Please, Yang? Just talk to him about it. An actual serious conversation about how he feels about her. It's not healthy for him to keep it to himself and other than us he doesn't have any friends to talk to. Plus you're his sister. If you won't do it for me, do it for him?" She said, finishing it with a kiss to her cheek. 'Hook line and sinker' Blake thought to herself.

Yang took a long deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Okay, fine. For you AND for Ruby." She said as she quickly kissed Blake on the lips. Blake smirked, she was humble enough to keep it to herself but she knew she had won this little verbal battle.

* * *

As soon as Blake and Yang went their separate ways, Blake pulled out her scroll and messaged Weiss. She kept it brief simply stating that Blake needed to speak with her right then about something important. Weiss immediately responded telling her that she could meet her at the dorm room in 5 minutes. Blake knew she had to keep her away from there so Yang and Ruby could talk, so she suggested meeting at the "popcorn bench". The "popcorn bench" was a fairly secluded area that sort of became their spot after Ruby had planted a popcorn seed there and kept forcing them to go back so he could water it and see if his 'popcorn plant' had grown yet. Yang didn't help by telling him that popcorn plants take a long time to show growth and she refused to let Weiss or Blake talk sense into Ruby about the impossibility of a "popcorn plant". Even though Ruby had long since given up on his plant, the name stuck and that place became a usual meeting spot for their team.

Weiss had agreed and reluctantly packed up her items as she made her way to meet with Blake. She felt a bit anxious because she had no idea if Yang and Ruby would also be there. She'd managed to avoid any kind of conversation with Ruby since the incident. The thought of having to discuss something "important" with him made her stomach twist.

When she arrived at the meeting spot she breathed a huge sigh of relief when she saw Blake reading on the bench by herself.

"So? What did you need to speak to me about?" Weiss asked as she sat next to her

Blake closed her book and look at Weiss before simply stating "Ruby."

"I'm leaving" Weiss said, glaring at her as she began to get up but was immediately pulled back down by Blake.

"No, we're talking about this. Weiss, I don't know what's going on between you and Ruby but it's hurting the team. How do you expect us to stay top of our class if 50% of our team aren't even speaking to each other? You know that we're going to have to resolve this eventually"

Weiss crossed her arms and looked the other way in anger without saying anything. She knew Blake was right. And she also knew that if Blake was sitting here having this conversation with her, it probably meant that Yang was having this same discussion with Ruby somewhere else. Even if she didn't want to reconcile, she knew that Ruby would no doubt be looking for her to fix things between them after his talk with his sister.

"You can talk to me Weiss, we're friends, right? Just tell me what happened that made you and Ruby start acting like this." Blake said as she put her hand on Weiss' shoulder.

Weiss relaxed a little before tensing again as she spoke

"That stupid dunce walked in on me while I was changing…" she murmured

Blake stared blankly at her "That's it?"

"It was humiliating! I was in my underwear! And he stared at me!"

"Weiss what's the deal with you and Ruby?"

"Meaning what exactly?"

"You know what I mean. The two of you were so close before… the accident"

Weiss visibly tensed at the mention of the incident with Ruby but Blake continued

"And even with Ruby's memory problem, you two hardly missed a beat and were even closer than before. You two fight almost on a daily basis and you've never avoided each other because of it even for a second. Now an accident happens and the two of you can hardly stand being in the same room with each other."

Weiss clenched her fists and continued to look in the other direction unable to come up with anything to say without admitting her feeling for Ruby

"Weiss, do you have feelings for Ruby?"

Weiss' eyes shot wide as she whipped her head around to stare at Blake in disbelief and shock. 'Did she read my mind?!' she thought to herself

"Absolutely not! Where are you even getting this from?!" she shouted

"Because if this had been an embarrassing incident between two friends, they would have moved on by now. Clearly this is bothering you so much for some reason. Also you stare at him a lot and you say his name in your sleep"

"I WHAT?!"

"Calm down. You're lucky Ruby sleeps like a log because his faunus ears would definitely pick up on it. And besides, he obviously feels the same way as you do"

"How do you know?" Weiss asked looking in the other direction again

"Anybody with eyes could see it. Plus he constantly flirts with you, you can't honestly tell me you haven't noticed that he likes you. Why don't you just talk to him about how you feel?"

"Because my family would kill him and take me away from this school the moment they found out?!" She said as she finally made eye contact again

"They don't have to find out, it could stay between the team and no one outside of us would have to find out. I know Ruby would understand."

Weiss sighed as she looked down

"Weiss, you want to be with Ruby don't you?"

"I…" Weiss desperately wanted to finally admit it out loud to someone and besides Ruby, Blake was probably her closest friend. And it's not like she could talk about this with Ruby. Blake was also making a lot of sense. Maybe she could make it work with Ruby. She often fantasized about what a relationship with Ruby would be like. He's so clingy, loyal, emotional and sweet. She could imagine him being the type to hold her through the entire night. The type to end fights with hugs and kisses. And the type of person who would say stupid sweet things without considering how embarrassing they were. She loved everything about it but she still had trouble admitting it out loud.

"… may have thought about it before"

Blake smiled, it may not have seemed like it… but she knew she had just broken a massive wall in between her and the heiress.

"Weiss, I want to help you with Ruby. But first you need to break this silence streak you've had going for the past 3 days"

"But I don't know how! I overreacted and I feel terrible because I should be taking care of him and instead I've completely ditched him while he's still recovering"

Blake rolled her eyes "Ruby is fine now Weiss! You took great care of him and Yang made sure he did his memory tests every morning. At worst, his feelings might be hurt over you avoiding him. But he's been avoiding you as well, so I think he feels guilty about what happened the other night."

"I have no idea what I should even say to him" Weiss groaned

"Talk to him in the dorm room at dinner time. Yang and I will bring you two food before they close the caf. Just tell him you're not mad at him over what happened. All you have to do tonight is make amends with him and it's Ruby. He's not hard to win over, especially when it's you. Ruby clearly has a massive soft spot for you. I've seen him forgive you for a lot worse than you avoiding him for a few days over an embarrassing incident."

Weiss smiled and sighed "I guess you're right. Ruby is the most forgiving person I've ever met. Thank you, Blake"

Blake returned the smile "Anytime. Do you want to grab some tea?"

"I'd like that"

* * *

Yang had been making her way through the halls and decided to stop and pick up some cookies for her troubled brother before she saw him. When she arrived at the dorm and opened the door she was surprised that Ruby wasn't playing video games but instead was curled in a ball in the middle of the floor. She'd seen him like this before and instantly knew what was happening. He was having a panic attack.

She immediately rushed over to him and cradled him in her arms

"Ruby? Ruby, what's wrong?!"

When she lifted him into her arms she could see that he was crying and shaking.

"It's Weiss…" He said shakily

Yang sighed "Is this all because you walked in on her naked?"

"SHE WASN'T NAKED! SHE WAS IN HER UNDERWEAR!" He shouted before continuing "But… yeah. Weiss is my best friend and I acted like a creepy little creep and now she can't even be around me anymore. I really thought we were getting closer and maybe we could've…" Ruby said shakily, unable to continue his thought.

Yang knew what was coming. The conversation she had been avoiding. The conversation that her girlfriend had been pushing her to have with her brother for the past year. Part of her blamed herself for her little brother's current situation. Maybe if she had just spoken to him about his feelings for Weiss and helped him work it out… he wouldn't have broken the way he has now. Blake was right, he had kept it all to himself for too long and now it's coming out all at once.

"Ruby, I'm not saying this to make you feel better; I'm saying it because it's the truth. You couldn't push Weiss away even if you tried. You mean so much to her and we all know it. You said yourself; Weiss has issues expressing her emotions. You're always so patient with her and I've never seen you give up on trying to fix things between you two whenever you mess something up. Why is this time suddenly different?"

"Because… Because…" Ruby couldn't bring himself to say anything

"Because you like her don't you? And that's why you're overreacting to this stupid situation. Figures, I'd expect this from Weiss but I knew something was up when it got to you"

Ruby looked down and slowly nodded his head "I thought that Weiss was opening up to me and I had something special with her that no one else did. But after the incident in the bathroom… I just feel like another creepy admirer. She probably thinks of me as another Jaune, desperate for her attention"

Yang couldn't help but giggle at the unintentional shot at Jaune. She tightened her grip around her baby brother in a protective way and began petting his head

"Ruby, you do have something special with Weiss that no one else does. Honestly, if anyone has a real chance with the Ice Queen, it's you!"

"Don't call her that" he mumbled into his sister's shoulder

"Rubbles, you're the only person who brings out Weiss' softer side. You're the only person who can get Weiss to give up studying to waste time with you. And you're the only person I've ever seen Weiss genuinely hug back, even if she acts annoyed by it. I'll be honest Ruby… I can't tell you if Weiss feels the same way as you. She's a tough nut to crack. But by Weiss standards… it really does seem like she likes you. You were holding her hand in the forest weren't you?"

"Yeah… but that's what friends do…"

"No, it's not" Yang laughed "Holding hands and staring into each other's eyes isn't exactly a friend thing to do. And I'm sure that's not the only time the two of you did something like that, is it?"

"Well… the other night we were stargazing and holding hands…"

"See?! If Weiss wasn't interested, she would have no issue telling you to fuck off! You've seen her do it a thousand times before to other people who try to win her affection. You're the only one who's managed to get to that side of Weiss"

"But what if she only tolerates me because she feels sorry for me. You know… after the accident. I think she just feels too guilty to tell me to fuck off"

Yang heaved a huge sigh "Oh Ruby, I forget how bad your memory is. You and Weiss have always been this close. Even before the accident, I've walked in on her sitting on your lap, I've seen you two hug for a disturbingly long time and I've seen the way she's worried and fretted over you since you two reconciled after your first fight when we first teamed up. The way she treats you has nothing to do with her putting up with you over guilt. It's just your relationship with her."

Ruby sighed a little. Mostly out of relief. As the air left his lungs he felt some of the shaking anxiety leave as well. He wrapped his arms around his sister and reveled in the feeling he got from being with her. Being held by his sister felt like home. There was very little that made him feel as safe. Yang was basically a parent to him and he was always eternally grateful to her for that. He knew it must have been hard for her to give up her childhood to raise him on her own. He made a mental note to do something extra nice for his sister in the next week. He felt tears start to roll down his cheek and he couldn't stop the sniffling and pathetic whimpering that left his mouth.

Yang tightened her grip on her brother "What's wrong, Ruby?"

"Nothing. I just… Love you so much, you know that, right? I'm so happy we're here together. I don't know if I would've managed being here without you." He said as he grabbed her clothing and hugged her as tightly as he could. He wanted to say so much more, about how he's sorry for what happened to mom and dad, but he's so grateful to her for picking up where they left off and raising him with as much love as she did. But he couldn't bring it up because he knew that it was a sore topic for Yang and he always felt guilty for having a decent childhood thanks to Yang while hers was stolen from her.

Yang smiled and felt tears start to build. Ruby got like this a lot after his panic attacks went away. So affectionate and grateful. Would it be a bad thing to say she almost loved these moments with him?

"Well, I am here with you. So you don't have to worry about what would've happened. I'll always be here for you Ruby. Even if I'm not around, I'm always just a phone call away. Nothing will ever keep up apart. I love you Ruby" she said as she kissed the top of his head

"Yang… What if Weiss doesn't like me like that because of… You know…"

"Your faunus ears? Ruby, Weiss is so far past that. You know she isn't like that anymo-"

"No! I mean… You know… The other thing… about me… Don't make me say it"

"Oh, Ruby…" Yang never thought she would say this about the Ice Queen but here it was

"Weiss is a caring and loving person. She isn't shallow and I know she cares about you for you. You saw how she reacted when we found out Blake was a faunus. It didn't change how she viewed Blake. She might be surprised, sure. But I know Weiss well enough to know that she accepts every part of you Ruby. Don't be ashamed about that part of you. It makes you, you. I'm so proud of you Ruby, you're a great kid and you're growing up to be a great man. You're so kind, caring and you wear your heart on your sleeve. Any girl or boy or whatever you want would be lucky to have you. Don't sell yourself short over something like that." She silently cheered when she saw Ruby smile. She knew that after a panic attack he needed as much affirmation as possible. And she felt her brother deserved to hear every word because it was nothing but the truth. Plus she loves coddling him and telling him how much she loves him but normally he's trying to act all grown and won't let her baby him.

"And I'm going to help you with Weiss, okay? Blake is the only person besides you to have some sort of connection with Weiss and since Blake is my girlfriend and I'm your sister… we can use that to find out how the Ice Queen really feels about you! No anxiety of trying to figure it out all on your own because I think that might actually kill you" she giggled

Ruby laughed too at his own expense before his face became serious and his eyes widened in shock. He leaned back out of his sister's grip so he could look at her face

"ARE YOU AND BLAKE DATING?!"

* * *

 **THANK YOU FOR READING!**

 **If you notice and spelling or grammar mistakes please let me know. Any writing tips/criticism in general is also welcomed.**

 **I'm sorry this chapter feels a bit lack-luster (At least IMO) but I'm trying to build something up without making a 10,000 word chapter haha**

 **See y'all at the next chapter :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello! Quick thank you for the reviews/faves/follows/views!**

 **Without missing a beat: CHAPTER 7!**

 **Oh yeah, I don't own RWBY, RT does. Please don't sue me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Stop Apologizing**

"Well… yeah, you know that?"

Yang and Ruby were currently in the middle of the floor of the dorm room with Ruby in Yang's lap. Ruby

"Uh, no?! What the hell Yang?!"

"You're not really mad are you?" Yang laughed

"No… I just feel so.. Wait, does Weiss know?"

"Of course she does! Everyone does"

"Except me! Damn, no one tells me anything" He shouted as he threw his arms and body back dramatically, Yang still holding onto him

"I'm sorry, Ruby. I thought you knew" Yang said only half-sympathetically. The other half of her thought the situation was hilarious and also a missed opportunity to have messed with her little brother. Ruby crossed his arms and looked away pouting

"I don't even know how you're going to make this up to me…"

As Ruby was speaking Yang's scroll buzzed with a message from Blake telling her Weiss was on her way to the dorm and for Yang to meet her at the cafeteria. Yang nudged Ruby off of her watching him roll over onto the floor to stay there as she stood up.

"I have an idea… Why don't you stay here and relax, maybe play a video game.. I'll go to the caf and grab you some take-out" she said ending it with a wink and a thumbs up

"Hmm… I guess that's a start… But make sure there's-"

"I will make sure there's cookies on the side"

"Thank you~ Love you~ idiot"

"Love you too, dweeb" Yang said as she walked out of the room

Ruby got up and walked over to the small TV set up on the far left desk. He glared down at his stack of video games as he began his very serious contemplation.

' _Which game should I play…_ '

The first game that caught his eye was horror genre but he looked past it as he decided he wasn't in the mood for something serious. With this in mind he sought out the most light-hearted and fun game he could find.

* * *

Weiss was slowly walking through the halls of Beacon trying to figure out how to discuss the situation with Ruby.

' _Okay Weiss, just do a few practice apologies before we get there. Okay… Ruby. I want to speak to you about my behaviour this week. Ugh! That sounds too much like I'm talking to a teacher. If it sounds rehearsed it won't sound compassionate enough and he won't take me seriously. Maybe I should just take Ruby's usual advice and 'wing-it'. But just in case I'm going to have a rehearsed apology ready._ '

As Weiss arrived at the dorm room she stood in front of it for a minute before she gathered enough nerve to swipe her scroll and unlock it. She slowly opened the door and found Ruby sitting at one of the desks playing video games. She kept her eyes on him as she entered the room; they caught eyes when Ruby finally glanced up to see who it was. He held eye contact for only a few seconds before his eyes went back to the TV screen. The silence in those few seconds felt like hell to Weiss until Ruby finally broke it.

"Uh~ Hi Weiss..."

"Hello Ruby. What are you doing?" She said trying her best to use a softer tone than usual. She was hoping to maybe convey without words that she wasn't mad at him. She felt a little relieved when she saw Ruby smile

"Playing video games. You wanna play with?"

There was a brief silence before Weiss finally responded

"Okay."

"Wait seriously?" Ruby asked still not taking his eyes off his game

"Why not?" Weiss responded as she sat in the chair next to him

"Because I always ask you that and you've never, NEVER, Weiss, said yes. This will be our first time playing video games together. A milestone in our relationship"

"That's not true! We have played video games together before! That horrible fighting game that ends with decapitations, that ridiculous racing game and that awful game that revolves around committing crimes and escaping police"

"You talking about Grand Theft Auto?"

"That's the one."

"Wow, I have literally no memory of any of that but you're clearly right."

Weiss frowned a bit, bringing up the accident wasn't something she wanted to do when she should be making amends but she had already dug her grave.

"I'm sorry, Ruby. I forgot about your… condition."

"It's okay, but you should forget those memories too and then it'll be like the first time for both us"

Weiss internally cursed herself for how her brain had immediately interpreted that statement. Ruby handed her a controller, pressing start and entering her character into the game.

"So what do I do here?" Weiss asked

"Uhm… Just run around collect yarn and uhm. That's pretty much it to be honest"

"What are these things even supposed to be? Frogs?"

Ruby laughed and Weiss felt more and more relaxed with the environment.

"I uh, I have no idea what they're supposed to be"

They played in a comfortable silence for a few minutes and even though Weiss felt like they had picked up exactly where they left off without being forced to address what had happened… She knew that it wouldn't be right to let it be resolved like this.

She lost focus in the game and stopped playing as she spoke up

"Ruby… I wante-" She was cut off by Ruby suddenly gasping

"Oh my god, Weiss. You just died. We only have a certain amount of lives you can't do that! Pause the game next time."

"This is serious!"

"Okay, okay" he said as he paused the game and put the controller on the desk, looking at Weiss and giving her his full attention

Weiss took a deep breath in and out before she opened her mouth to speak but Ruby quickly beat her to it with his fast ranting

"Is this about me walking in on you in the bathroom while you were changing? Because if it is I'm sorry, like, genuinely sorry. Opening the door was an accident but stepping inside was just stupid on my part and I'm sorry I don't think about things I do until after I do them."

He kept his eyes closed through most of the rant, unable to look at Weiss and see her reaction. Weiss was mostly shocked at Ruby's sudden outburst but also a bit upset that he had taken away her opportunity to apologize first.

"Ruby, you don't need to apologize, I do. I shouldn't ha-"

"No you don't! You should've totally been mad at me and had every right to be!"

"I wasn't mad at you! I was just…" she trailed off not able to finish her thoughts

There was a brief silence before Ruby spoke up

"I'm sorry"

"Stop. Stop apologizing" Weiss could feel her anger rising ' _that's two apologies now and I haven't even managed one. I was the one who started this conversation for god's sake!_ '

Another brief silence was once again broken by Ruby

"I'm sorry for apologizing too much"

Weiss pinched the bridged of her nose and took another deep breath before speaking

"Ruby… I want to say something to you but I need you to promise me that you won't speak until I'm finished."

"Okay, Weiss. I promise."

Weiss took a couple seconds to collect her thoughts. She decided to just speak her mind and hopefully it would come out right.

"Ruby… I wasn't mad at you for what you did. I'm sorry if I made you feel that I was. And I'm sorry for avoiding you these past few days. What happened was an accident and I know you can't help how dense you are." Ruby made a face in fake indignation but stayed silent as Weiss continued to speak

"I shouldn't shut you off anytime I let my emotions get the best of me. We're teammates, more importantly, we're partners. I promise I won't run away from you ever again. From now on I swear you'll be the person I come to whenever I feel… not myself. Even if… especially if you're part of the problem, so that way… we can fix it, together." She said the last part as she gently reached over and placed her hand on Ruby's right, robotic hand. Ruby smiling widely as she did.

"All I ask is that you don't let me avoid you like that anymore. I know I can seem… distant at times. But I don't want to be."

Ruby finally spoke up, his face was a deep shade of red and he couldn't contain his smile despite how obvious it was that he was trying to

"Thanks Weiss. I promise I won't let you avoid me anymore, I'll be way clingier than usual"

"Okay well we don't have to go that far…"

"Nope! Too late, you literally asked for it Weiss!" He said as he crawled into her lap

"Ruby…" Weiss groaned "You're too heavy get off me!"

"It's all muscle baby"

"Get off!" she said shoving him to the ground. She almost felt bad but Ruby quickly reached up and grabbed her arm, pulling her down on top of him before he quickly rolled them over so he was hovering above her, nuzzling his head into her neck

"Ruby! Get off!"

"But Weiss, we've been separated for so long! I feel so deprived of your attention!"

Weiss sighed and decided there was only one way out

"Ruby… if you get off of me I'll buy you a bag of cookies"

"Yang's already bringing me some. Nice try, though"

' _Drat_ ' Weiss thought. ' _Wait, there might be one more way out_ '

"Ruby… do you wanna go for a walk?"

Ruby was off of Weiss in a flash, leaving her slightly covered in rose petals.

"Hey Weiss, you should take off your clothes and go full out 'American Beauty' right now"

"So you've gotten over your peeping habits and decided to try your luck at straight out asking me to undress for you?"

"Wow. Peeping habits? That's not funny Weiss." Ruby said crossing his arms.

"Yes it is" Weiss said smiling as she stood to grab her coat. She swiped the remaining petals off her skirt before putting it on and opening the door and leaving for their walk.

* * *

Weiss led Ruby to the balcony, the same one where they had their first deep talk at the end of their first year. The walk there was in pure silence and Ruby felt a little awkward about it. Even though Weiss had clearly forgiven him, he still had this anxious feeling that things weren't quite back to normal yet. As they stood on the balcony, gazing at the stars, Ruby was about to bring up the incident again when Weiss spoke up.

"Ruby, do you remember the last time we stood on this balcony together?"

"Uhm… No?"

Weiss sighed. A piece of her was really upset that Ruby had forgotten such an important memory. But at the same time, she was a little excited to relive it with him.

"I just want to say…" She trailed off as she slowly moved her hand that was placed on the rail to cover Ruby's which was also on the rail

"I really appreciate you being in my life. I'm so happy you were the one who found me in the forest, I can't imagine how I would have fared this far without you."

"What?! Are you kidding me? I'm the one who would be screwed without you! I mean I'm an awesome fighter, clearly, but I would've failed all my classes if it wasn't for you! And you're so patient with me and kind… I don't think anyone else would put up with me and help me the way you do. You're so smart Weiss and pretty, I don't deserve to have someone like you on my team, let alone as my partner! But I'm so glad I do! You're basically the main reason our team is as good as it is. You're the only reason I'm such a good leader"

Weiss couldn't even form words at this point, her face was entirely red and she refused to even look in Ruby's direction so he would hopefully not notice. So she decided to pull Ruby in for a hug to avoid conversation and keep her face hidden. Ruby immediately reciprocated and wrapped his arms around her waist as her arms were wrapped around his neck.

They stood there for a minute, not speaking. Simply holding each other and enjoying the comfortable silence that surrounded them. Weiss was the first one who broke the silence

"Ruby… I promise you… One day, soon, very soon… I'll tell you what happened."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know…" She trailed off burying her face in his cape

"No, Weiss, I really don't know" Ruby laughed a bit

Weiss' grip on Ruby tightened a little before she spoke

"I'm talking about the accident. I promise Ruby, I'll explain it to you. But I'm just not ready and I'm the only one who can tell you what happened. I was the only one there with you"

Ruby pulled back a bit so he could look into Weiss' eyes. They were a little puffy and red, like she was about to cry. Weiss was desperately fighting the tears that were threatening to start pouring out. Seeing Ruby's face, more specifically, that scar that went across his lips… The dam broke and the tears started to fall

"Weiss, you don't have to explain it to me. I'm fine with not knowing, really"

Weiss shook her head and pulled Ruby back in so she could hide her face in his cape again

"No. I need to tell you about it, if not for you… then for myself. I can't keep it to myself forever." Her voice was cracking a bit as she spoke. Seeing Weiss like this brought tears to Ruby's eyes. He felt embarrassed by it and bit his tongue as hard as he could to supress the overwhelming emotions he was feeling. When he felt his emotions calm down a bit he pulled back and looked at Weiss once more. She looked so broken and sad.

"Okay Weiss, if you feel like you have to… Then I'll be ready to listen to you whenever you want to talk about it. But Weiss…" He said as he cupped her face in his hands, being sure to be extra careful with his robot hand.

"Nothing that happened that day will change us, okay? You're always going to be my favourite person and my best friend." Ruby smiled as he spoke and Weiss felt herself smile as well. She felt a huge wave of relief and the tears stopped falling.

"Thank you Ruby. You're…. You're my favourite person as well" she said as she pulled him in for one last hug

"Oh shoot!" Ruby suddenly said

"What's wrong?"

"Yang is bringing us dinner! It's gonna be cold if we don't go back now!"

Weiss rolled her eyes and wiped her face with her sleeves to dry the tears that had fallen. She then pulled back from Ruby and grasped his robot hand in hers.

"Come on then, dolt. Let's go. God forbid you don't shovel food into your mouth for a few minutes"

"Hey!"

They held hands the entire walk back.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

Yang and Blake were currently standing outside of their dorm room, they had been for the past 5 minutes. Blake was leaning her head against the door trying to push her concealed faunus ears as close to the door as possible while Yang eagerly stood next to her, staring at her intently to gauge her reaction to the possible sounds she could be hearing.

"Hear anything?" Yang whispered

"I don't hear a thing. Pure silence" Blake whispered back.

Yang gasped "What if they're kissing?!"

"Then I'd be able to hear it"

"Not if they're kissing with tongue, that's pretty quiet"

"Ew, god Yang. That's you're little brother you're talking about"

"So? I'm all for him scoring. It's perfectly healthy. He's at that age Blake! If I try to repress his puberty urges he'll turn into one of those sex freaks with weird fetishes, the best thing I can do is be proud and encouraging."

"God! Yang, stop talking. Right now. I sort of wish you were still against this Ruby and Weiss thing."

"Hey, you asked for it!"

Blake sighed "let's just knock and go in, we've waiting long enough."

They knocked on the door more loudly than usual in case they were up to something, before unlocking the door. Yang, who couldn't wait another second, slammed the door open expecting to catch her brother in some sort of act with the Ice Queen. But instead they were met with an empty room.

"Are you fucking kidding me. They weren't even here?!" Yang shouted

"Hey friend-o's!" Ruby said as he and Weiss came up behind them, it didn`t go unnoticed by Yang and Blake when Weiss quickly retracted her hand from Ruby's.

"Why are you two standing in the doorway?" Weiss asked suspiciously with one eyebrow raised.

Yang and Blake looked at each other waiting for one of them to come up with an excuse. Yang was the first one to speak

"Uhm… Hey! We brought you guys dinner!"

"Right on! See I told you Weiss!" Ruby said as he fist pumped in excitement

They went inside, Ruby and Yang picking up on the video game he and Weiss had abandoned. Blake went to her bed to read while Weiss sat at the other desk to work on some homework. As she worked she couldn't help it as she kept peeking over at Ruby.

' _He really is quite cute and sweet. He hasn't changed at all since the accident. That conversation on the balcony proved it. I really want to make it work with him… If I'm being honest with myself.. The best things in my life came from me disobeying my family's wishes. And Blake is probably right, if it's kept between the team… No one will know. It wouldn't be the first secret we've kept. No one has found out about Blake's ears…_ '

Her thoughts were cut off as Yang spoke to her

"Can we help you, Ice Queen?"

"E-excuse me?!"

"Well you're staring at us like you need something!"

"I was not! I was simply lost in thought over my homework, something you probably couldn't understand since you never think!"

Ruby laughed and Yang started to grow irritated

"Listen here Ice Queen-" Yang started but was interrupted by Ruby

"Yang, I swear to god, if you pull a Weiss and cost us a life because you weren't paying attention…"

"Oh, right!" Yang said as she focused back on the game

"Don't use me as a verb, Ruby!" Weiss said

Weiss stood up and decided to gather her things for a shower since she clearly wasn't getting anything accomplished with her homework. As she walked over the bathroom she heard the shower start

"What the?!"

Yang began to laugh as she spoke "Oh yeah, Blake snuck in there while you were having a fit"

"I was not 'having a fit' you imbecile! God, you are so…. Ugh!" Weiss said as she stomped her foot and sat back down to her homework

Ruby and Yang began laughing hysterically, Ruby finally spoke up

"Come on, Weiss. Play the game with us! We could really use a third player and Blake can take your place when she gets out of the shower"

Weiss glared at Ruby and then looked back to her homework. She knew she wouldn't get any more work done today so she decided to take Ruby up on his offer. She grabbed a chair and put it next to Ruby as he handed her a controller. As Weiss sat there, playing video games with Ruby and his sister… She realized that she really loved this atmosphere.

' _Maybe this is something that can be a regular thing. I would definitely like that._ ' Weiss thought as she watched her character plummet off the screen as a life was lost due to her being distracted.

Ruby and Yang both gave her hell for that.

* * *

 **Shout outs to me for FINALLY remembering to put thoughts in italics.**

 **Thank you so much for reading this much of my story! 40 follows! My god! I didn't think anyone would be interested in my story, at best I thought I'd get a couple follows. But this is so encouraging. Y'all are so great :)**

 **Oh and the game Ruby and Weiss were playing is Yoshi's Wooly World. I think I made that obvious enough though haha**

 **I'll see you next chapter! Once again, please let me know if you see any errors or have any criticism! And thank you so much for taking an interest in my story!**

 **:)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello! Welcome to chapter 8! I really wanted to have this uploaded by Friday but every time I found time to write, I couldn't find a good spot to end the chapter without feeling like I was dragging out the plot for too long.**

 **That being said... this chapter is stupid long lol. So buckle up.**

 **Shout outs to the person in my reviews who suggested this to me! For people who want to know what my Ruby looks like, a perfect example is Milk-Puppy's art on tumblr! So just look up Milk-Puppy if you'd like a general idea for my Ruby's appearance!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. RT does!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Stupid, Stupid, Stupid Boy**

Weiss awoke that morning feeling refreshed and happy. It was rare that she woke up in such a good mood but she knew that today was the start of something great. Besides the fact that it was Friday, it was also the day that she decided she would finally give in to Ruby's constant flirting.

Her talk with Blake the other day had stayed on her mind all day and night yesterday. She felt weirdly giddy whenever she thought about Ruby. She usually got frustrated and ashamed whenever she let her thoughts about him wander. But instead she was feeling anxious and excited. She was overall a very confident girl, especially when it came to getting something she wanted. And her situation with Ruby was no different. She knew she could make him hers the moment she wanted to. But she didn't want to treat Ruby like an object to obtain. No, she was going to be _very_ smooth about this. And today was the perfect day to start her plan! She and Ruby had their final class off because Ruby needs to go back to the hospital for a routine check-up. Alone time with Ruby was exactly what she needed. There was no way in hell that she would be caught dead flirting with Ruby while his obnoxious sister watched from the sidelines, no doubt making loud comments.

She gracefully rose from her bed, unsurprised to see Blake exiting the bathroom, fully dressed. She greeted Blake on her way to the bathroom and even Blake noticed that Weiss was a little more chipper this morning. Blake walked back to her bed and peeked over the edge of the top bunk to find her girlfriend snoring and sleeping soundly. She smiled and kissed her cheek causing Yang to start stirring in her sleep and mumbling something about 'kitty cats'. Yang reached over and swung her arm around Blake's neck and pulled her into a kiss, all the while keeping her eyes closed. They continued kissing for a couple moments longer until they hear a loud groaning. Blake turned around to find Ruby awake and looking at them

"Could you guys please not do that so early in the morning?" Ruby asked as he slowly rose from his bed and swung his legs off the edge, wiping his eyes.

"Sorry Ruby, I thought you were asleep" Blake giggled

"Ugh, I don't want to think about the things you two get up to while you 'think I'm asleep'"

Blake laughed but it was cut short when she heard that familiar snoring again, she turned back around to find Yang totally unconscious once again. She sighed

"Ruby, you might as well shower next since Yang is being difficult this morning"

"Ho-kay!" Ruby shouted as he jumped down from the bed and gathered his stuff for his shower. As if on cue, Weiss walked out of the bathroom. Ruby walked by her to take her place saying his quick good morning to her as he did. But Weiss caught him off guard by gently grasping his arm and making eye contact with him as she said

"Good morning, Ruby. You look very nice today" Ending her compliment with a smile

Ruby's eyes went wide and he barely managed to stutter out a thank you as he quickly ran into the bathroom. He shut the door and started the shower, but before he went in he took a good look at himself in the mirror. His hair was messier than usual and sticking up in many places, especially the parts around his faunus ears. His eyes looked dead and he had deep, dark bags under them. He glanced at the scar running over both his lips and the dried drool next to them on the corner of his mouth. He lifted up his robotic arm and sniffed his armpit, immediately recoiling at the rancid smell. He continued staring at himself when a thought came to him

" _is this the type of look Weiss is into_?"

He started to remove his clothes, stepping away from the mirror and looking straight ahead. Showers were always hell for him. He hated his body, specifically in the chest area. He always did his best to ignore his situation but times like this was when harsh reality set in and all he could do was try his best to block it all out. He had a team to look after now, he didn't have the opportunity to wallow in his misery and feel bad for himself. He had to stay strong and keep his emotions in check.

Meanwhile on the other side of the door Weiss was currently being stared at by the other faunus member of their team

"What?" Weiss asked

"Nothing. I'm just surprised you're putting the moves on him this early in the morning, your advances may go completely over his head." Blake said

"W-what?! I-I'm not doing anything of the sort! Just focus on waking that brute so we're not late to class"

Blake smirked as she turned back to Yang and resorted to lightly slapping her face, she learned this technique from Ruby and she had to admit it was the most effective way to wake up Yang. Sure enough Yang opened one eye and peeked at her girlfriend with a smirk on her face. She quickly put both her hands on Blake's face and kissed her on the lips. Blake went along with it for a few seconds before she pulled away and scrunched her face

"No more kisses until you brush your teeth"

"Yeah, yeah" Yang said tiredly as she slowly started to close her eyes again but they abruptly shot open again when Blake slapped her face

"Get up! This is the last time I'm telling you"

Yang giggled and shot up stretching her body and cracking the bones in her back

"Ohhhh, Blake-sensei is so strict today"

Blake pulled Yang down and kissed her one more time on the cheek before walking off to get her things ready

Weiss watched the situation go down from the reflection in the mirror where she was brushing her hair. She usually felt annoyed by Yang and Blake's public displays of affection but right now she couldn't help but think it was a little sweet. And instead of feeling grossed out by their lip-locking, she felt jealous that she didn't have someone to wake up with kisses.

Just then Ruby walked out of the bathroom, Yang jumped down from her bed, ready to take Ruby's place when she abruptly stopped at the sight of her brother.

Ruby's hair was incredibly messy, messier than usual, even messier than when he first wakes up, in fact, this was a new level of messy that Yang had never seen Ruby achieve. Yang stared at him with wide eyes when she finally spoke up

"Uhm… Ruby? Did you… did you shower?"

"Yep" He replied as he put his hands on his head and made his hair a little bit more messy

"Uhm~ O~…kay~" she slowly stepped around him, not taking her eyes off of him as she stepped into the bathroom and slowly closed the door. Once the door was shut Ruby turned around and walked by Weiss to the desk to complete his morning memory test. Weiss caught him in the mirrors reflection as he walked by and she immediately whipped her head around to look at him

"RUBY!"

Said boy jumped a little as he turned from his seat and met eyes with Weiss who was stomping over to him. She began combing his hair with her brush as she lectured him

"Honestly, did you even shower?! It's somehow even worse than when you woke up!"

Ruby felt dumbfounded as Weiss continued her verbal onslaught while she combed through his hair and made him look more presentable. Ruby had never been more confused; he thought Weiss said he looked good when he woke up. He couldn't exactly recreate the bags under his eyes or the dried drool on his mouth, this was the best he could do! One of the first times Weiss had EVER complimented his appearance and he screwed it up somehow. Weiss finally put the brush down and patted the rest of his hair down with her hands

"Well this is probably the best I can do." She mumbled as she continued patting his head, her hands brushed against his sensitive faunus ears and Ruby immediately shot up with a deep blush on his face as he shouted

"WEISS!"

Weiss backed up and looked at him with wide eyes, even Blake was staring at him, although she seemed to have a knowing look on her face. Ruby coughed and cleared his throat as he slowly sat back down

"Ahem. Thank you, Weiss… For doing.. my hair."

He continued to work on his memory test and hoped that he was the only one who felt that heavy, awkward vibe in the silent room. ' _At least Yang wasn't here to make it worse'_ He thought to himself.

* * *

They entire day felt really weird to Ruby. Mostly because of the way Weiss was treating him. Before they left the dorm room that morning for breakfast, Weiss stopped Ruby after Blake and Yang had walked out already and began smoothening his uniform as she mumbled something about him looking like a 'presentable team leader'. It wasn't the first time she had done this to Ruby but Ruby swore she was being way gentler with her touching than she usually was when she did this. The next instance of 'weird Weiss behaviour' was during breakfast. When Ruby smudged food crumbs all over his face, instead of yelling at him and forcing him to clean himself up, Weiss giggled at his childish antics and wiped his mouth with a napkin for him. This gesture caught everyone at the table off guard. Except for Blake and Yang who knew exactly what was happening.

Originally Yang and Blake had been scheming a way to set up the cookie loving faunus with the frigid Ice Queen. But they were shocked when they found that the heiress was already making such obvious advancements on Ruby. And if Ruby's blank stare was anything to go off on… he clearly had no idea what was happening. This, in Yang's opinion at least, made the entire thing very hilarious.

Weiss' odd behaviour continued all day. She casually brushed her leg against Ruby's as they sat in class and kept it there. She was constantly 'fixing his hair' by running her fingers through it and commenting on how soft it felt. She even initiated a hug when they received their tests back and Ruby had gotten a good grade. Although all of her attempts at flirting where met with blank stares and nervous stuttering. It left Weiss feeling so….

' _FRUSTRATED! I AM ABSOLUTELY FRUSTRATED WITH RUBY TODAY. I finally come out of my shell long enough for a sure thing and he decides to close up on me. I usually have to beat Ruby off with a stick, literally sometimes. Now that I want him to say some stupid, flirtatious joke, he has nothing to say! Maybe I need to go on the defensive. Wait for him to make his move and then counter it!"_

Weiss patted herself on the back for her genius plan as she waited for Ruby outside his leadership class. She made sure to finish her assignments early and was cleared by the professor to leave class early to meet with Ruby. He still got lost as he wandered through the halls and Weiss wanted to surprise him by being there as soon as he got out.

Sure enough Ruby was plenty surprised to see Weiss

"Weiss!" He shouted as he ran up to her and hugged her tightly

Weiss immediately wrapped her arms around his back, smiling. ' _He smells really good. It must be the body spray he wears, chocolate scented… of course'_ Weiss' thoughts were cut short by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Ruby let go of Weiss as he turned around to see who it was, when Ruby turned he cleared the view for Weiss who immediately saw Jaune Arc standing behind him.

Weiss internally groaned ' _I knew they had the same leadership class but I was hoping I could snatch Ruby away quickly enough to avoid any kind of conversation'_

Jaune cleared his throat once more as he stood between Weiss and Ruby, leaning one of his arms on the wall as he spoke

"So, Weiss… Got any plans for tonight?"

"Yes." She deadpanned. "With Ruben actually" she said as she grabbed Ruby's arm, pulled him under Jaune's arm and positioned him in between herself and Jaune. Ruby stood with a stupid, blank expression on his face. At first, Jaune flirting with Weiss made Ruby feel jealous. Then once he realized how little interest Weiss had in him, he thought it was pretty funny. Then it became a little annoying and now it was just as common as the sun rising or falling… Ruby didn't know how to feel about it.

Jaune's confidence stayed resolute. Especially since her plans involved her partner and not like, a date or anything. "Well what about after you're finished with Ruby? Then maybe we cou-"

"No. Now if you'll excuse me, Ruben and I have somewhere to be." She said as she pulled on Ruby's hand and led him to the airships. Ruby grinned largely at Jaune as Weiss pulled him away and Jaune mumbled something about catching them later but his confident attitude was replaced with a more dejected one.

* * *

As the duo arrived at the airship docks, Weiss suddenly remembered her plan and let go of Ruby's hand that she had been holding since they departed from Jaune.

' _Right, Weiss. I know you're eager to call Ruby on his flirting but he only does it when you don't pay him any attention. Just be patient and wait for your moment to strike'_ Weiss' thought to herself as she walked over to check the schedule. They had about 5 minutes until the airship came. She turned around and made her way to Ruby who was sitting on one of the benches. She sat next to him, not too close, and made sure to position her body away from him.

Sure enough after a few moments of silence he came running to her like the little puppy she knew he would be. He threw his head on her lap and smiled up at her, the gesture immediately returned.

"I'm bored~"

"The airship should be here in about 5 minutes" she replied. She had to repress the urge to run her fingers through his soft bangs.

"Hm~" Ruby mumbled as he got lost in his thoughts. "Why are you taking me to the hospital?"

"Because you need to get a proper check-up and beacon doesn-"

"No, I know why we're going" Ruby laughed "I meant why are YOU taking me?"

"Because I'm the only one on our team who could afford to miss class. Well, Blake could have taken you but she needed to help Yang write an essay"

"Yang is hopeless" Ruby laughs as he shakes his head

"Says the boy who constantly needs my help with his assignments" Weiss smirked at him

"But I know you love spending all that time with me" He says as his face breaks into a large wolfish grin.

 _'_ _This is my chance!'_ Weiss thought

Clearing her throat, she began to speak "Well… I definitely didn't mind that alone time with you… And I would certainly like more of it…"

Ruby's face had completely flushed red and he was left unable to speak other than some incoherent sputtering. Just then the airship began to dock and Ruby jumped up and began walking over to it.

' _Drat, of course the stupid airship comes early on the one day I don't want it to…'_ Weiss thought.

Weiss sullenly got up and followed Ruby to the airship. The ride into town was relatively quiet. Ruby had brought his Gameboy and spent the entire ride talking about his video game which left Weiss with no opportunities to flirt with Ruby. The walk to the hospital itself was slightly more eventful… but also irritating. Weiss was constantly dragging Ruby away from the windows of bakery shops, toy shops and weapon shops. He even stopped to look at man fixing shoes. Weiss was forced to grab his hand and drag him through the streets of Vale.

They got to the hospital and Weiss did most of the work of checking Ruby in. They were quickly brought into the doctor's office after a short wait and were met by the same doctor who had treated Ruby when he awoke from his coma. The doctor was a middle aged woman, very plain looking but also had a warm, gentle, motherly vibe that surrounded her.

"Hello, Ruben. How have you been?"

"Uh, okay" Ruby replied awkwardly. He couldn't stand talking to strangers and he hated talking to doctors most of all. He spoke to them a lot. Being on daily medication that affects your moods sort of requires a lot of check-ups with personal questions. It made all him feel a little uncomfortable around all doctors.

"How's your head been? Any headaches?"

"Uhm… sometimes. But they're not that bad. I just take a painkiller and it usually goes away eventually"

"How often do you get headaches?"

"I don't know… Not that often.. but more often that I used to get them, before the head injury"

Weiss frowned a bit. Ruby hadn't told her about his headaches. She knew he probably kept it to himself because he doesn't like bringing people down. But she was still upset that he wouldn't tell her about it. She also wondered if Yang knew about them or if he even kept them from her.

"Hm~ Have you had any more accidents? Hitting your head on things or anything like that?"

"Not really~…"

"Yes." Weiss interjected "He has. A lot. Nothing serious, but he bumps his head almost on a daily basis. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a daily basis…"

Ruby sighed loudly "Okay, yeah, I've hit my head a lot."

The doctor smiled at their dynamic and poorly hid her laughter as she spoke

"Well that's not very good." She got a bit more serious as she continued speaking "Ruben, you need to take extra care to not hit your head. It's very important for your health that you be more careful. Maybe your girlfriend can help look out for you" she said as she smiled at Weiss.

Ruby and Weiss' faces both immediately flared red and they both began stuttering at the same time

"Wow, she's not my-"

"We aren`t dating!"

The doctor covered her mouth and giggled a little

"Okay, okay." She began going through her paperwork and left Ruby and Weiss in painful awkward silence. Ruby could feel the sweat beginning to drip down his face. He absolutely hated his reaction to uncomfortable social situations. What could be worse than reacting embarrassingly to embarrassment? He started to stealthily steady his breathing and took quiet deep breaths as he counted them out. A technique his old doctor taught him to help him control his anxiety. Just as he felt he was starting to feel calm and could feel his body cool down a bit, the doctor spoke up

"So, Ruben… Just to be sure my facts about your medication are right, you're taking Remeron daily and Testosterone every 2 weeks correct?"

Ruby's mind went into overdrive mode and the sweat came back in full force.

"Ye-Yeah…" He said. _'DAMN, STUPID LADY. WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT OUTLOUD!? WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT IN FRONT OF WEISS?! NOW SHE KNOWS I'M TAKING HORMONE MEDICATION AND THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL SHE ISN'T GOING TO QUESTION IT."_ He nervously took a side glance at Weiss to find her lost in thought

 _'_ _SHE'S TOTALLY QUESTIONING IT!'_ Ruby felt like he was going to die.

Weiss, however, couldn't get over the doctor calling her Ruby's 'girlfriend'. She definitely had a knee jerk reaction to the term but after the initial embarrassment she found that she kind of liked it. By the time she tuned back into the conversation, Ruby had sweat dripping down his face as the doctor discussed his healing progress and the scar over his lips. Weiss couldn't understand what was wrong with Ruby.

"How about the wound on your stomach?"

"Uh, uhm, uh" Ruby stuttered, he wasn't even listening to what the doctor had been saying and was caught off guard when she randomly spoke to him. "My stomach?" The doctor nodded

"I haven't changed the bandages in a couple of days so I'm not sure… But the last time my sister changed my bandages, she said it looked pretty much healed!"

Weiss felt guilty when she realized that she and Ruby's misunderstanding resulted in his medical care being left in Yang's hands. _'Honestly, that blonde moron couldn't remember to change her own brothers bandages?! It's my own fault for thinking I could trust her with anything remotely important.'_

"Okay well, lift up your shirt and let's see"

Ruby stood up and lifted his shirt enough for the doctor to remove the bandages. As she did so, it revealed an incredibly large scar going across his stomach in a long, wide line. She removed the bandage on his lower back as well to reveal a similar scar.

"Well it looks great, Ruben! I'd say it's a complete recovery" she said as she discarded the used bandages and Ruby sat back down.

"So I guess that about wraps it up! Just take care of your head, Ruben… It's very delicate. But you don't need any more bandages on your stomach. And how has the arm been? No issues?"

"Nah, the arm has been great. It kind of throbs at night though and it hurts sometimes."

"That's normal. If you find the pain is too bad and you can't fall asleep, try taking some pain medication. You can also tie something like a bathrobe around your arm, up here…" she said point to Ruby's upper bicep, right under his shoulder where his robot limb met his human flesh.

"Tie it tightly and it should help minimize the throbbing."

"Okay, thanks doctor, I'll try that" Ruby said, smiling out of courtesy at her.

"Okay, well… let's book you for an appointment in a month from now for a routine check-up on your arm." She said as she stood up, Weiss and Ruby following as they slowly made their way to the door

"Oh, one second" the doctor said as she fished through her drawer. She pulled out a massive stack of paper and handed them to Ruby

"More memory tests. Make sure you take them every day if you can!"

"Okay, thank you doctor" Ruby said as he and Weiss left the office.

As they were walking through the streets of Vale, Weiss began to speak

"Ruby? Would you like to go to a café? My treat." She said smiling

"Oh, uh, sure!"

* * *

Ruby and Weiss were sitting in the first café they had found. A small place that was pretty much empty except for Ruby, Weiss and a few other patrons. Ruby had ordered a plate of cookies with chocolate milk, while Weiss simply ordered a coffee. Ruby felt a little sick with anxiety. He appreciated the fact that Weiss wasn't asking him about his Testosterone medication. Although he had already prepared himself before even coming to beacon about the lies he could tell anyone who accidentally stumbled upon his medication. It wasn't that he was ashamed of himself for being transgender. He just hated having the conversation. And it was definitely not some fun-fact that he wanted to share with every single person he met.

Weiss noticed how troubled Ruby seemed. He was slowly eating his cookies in small bites instead of shovelling them down his throat like he usually does. And he seemed so deep in thought, which Weiss thought was unusual for him.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked gently

"Oh! Uh! N-nothing!"

"Ruby… You can tell me anything, you know that… right?" She asked, her voice lacking its usual confidence

"Uh… uhm" Ruby wanted to confide in her but he also didn't want to tell her what he was thinking about

"I was just… uhm…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…"

Ruby sighed "No, I do… I was just, thinking about, uh, my medication."

"What medication?" Weiss asked with genuine curiosity

"Y'know.. the medication the doctor asked me about"

"I must have been distracted when she asked you that" Weiss said _'must have been after she accused me of being Ruby's girlfriend'_

"Oh" Ruby said with a huge sigh of relief

"What… What do you take them for? If you don't mind me asking!"

"Uh~ I mean, they're uh, anti-depressants" Ruby said awkwardly _'there's no reason to tell her about the hormone medication if she doesn't already know about it'_

"Oh." Weiss said with wide eyes

"Uh… But it's not a big deal! Really! In fact, it's mostly for anxiety but anxiety and depression medication usually go hand in hand. I just kind of have out of control anxiety. It makes my stomach hurt for no reason and I used to throw up a lot over it. Yang says I'm like a little puppy with too much energy" Ruby giggled "But the medication just keeps my adrenaline down and it also helps me sleep at night cause I used to be a bit of an insomniac."

Weiss frowned and found herself speechless. She never would have expected Ruby of all people to be on anti-depressants. Although, his explanation did make sense to her. She supposed someone being as hyper-active as Ruby must come with some downsides. And the puppy comparison was a little cute. Her thoughts were cut short as Ruby spoke up

"It's really not a big deal though. I hope it doesn't make you think differently of me or anything"

"Of course it doesn't Ruby" Weiss smiled as she reached over the table and grasped Ruby's right hand with hers. Ruby smiled back at her as his face got a little red. This didn't go unnoticed by Weiss who felt like she had just scored. Weiss had almost forgotten how badly she wanted alone time with Ruby today. She decided to take the conversation in a different direction

"So, Ruby… Beacon is having a dance soon…"

"Really? That's weird. I wouldn't expect a combat school to do something like that"

"Well it's part of the Vytal festival. Exchange students will be coming to beacon, the dance is supposed to be a celebration of all the different students coming together."

"Boo."

"Oh, don't be like that. Do you… have any dates in mind?"

Ruby almost choked on his chocolate milk. He coughed a bit before responding

"Uhm, no… I mean, I probably won't even go. Dances aren't my thing. I always skipped them at my old school"

"Ruben Rose! You are going to this dance! Your sister and I organized the entire thing there is no way you are missing it!" she said frowning angrily at him

Ruby sighed "well… who are you going with?"

Weiss blushed a little. She wanted to go with Ruby… but just straight up asking him seemed too straight forward.

"Well…. I have someone in mind… But I'm waiting for them to ask me… hopefully" she said looking away

"Oh…" Ruby said with a sad tone as his face fell

Weiss looked back at him and immediately noticed how upset he looked _'what's with that face?! Oh, for the love of… He didn't take my hint?! How dense is this boy?!'_

Weiss cleared her throat and tried to make it a little more obvious

"Apparently he doesn't even want to go to the dance so I don't know if he'll ask me"

"I can't blame him for not wanting to go" Ruby said absentmindedly

Weiss nearly fell off her chair. _'Stupid, stupid, stupid boy! How can anyone be this dense?! Do I have to spell it out for him?!'_ Weiss took a deep breath. She should have known this would happen. _'This is what you get for falling for such a dolt. Okay, Weiss. You're a Schnee. When you want something, you go for it. Clearly subtly isn't going to work.'_ Weiss took a deep breath and slowly let it out

"Ruben… I want to go to the dance… With… you."

Ruby stared at her dumbfounded with a cookie hanging out of his mouth. He quickly shoved it in his mouth and swallowed it.

"What about the other guy you wanted to go with?"

Weiss slammed her hands on the table as she shouted at him "YOU ARE THE OTHER GUY! IF YOU WEREN'T SO DENSE YOU WOULD HAVE CLUED INTO THAT A LONG TIME AGO, YOU DUNCE!"

Ruby stared at her with wide eyes, as well as the employees and the few other patrons in the shop. Weiss noticed this and her face grew a little red as she shrunk back into her seat.

Ruby smiled a little "You… You want to go to the dance with me?" He said pointing to himself

"Yes…" Weiss replied quietly

"But… why? I mean, you're you! You could have anyone you want!"

"But I want you!" She said as she pulled Ruby's right, robotic hand and held it gently with both of hers. "Ruby… I need to tell you something. And I hope you'll hear me out before you say anything"

Ruby nodded. He felt like he was going to be sick. The tension between him and Weiss felt so strong and he had no idea why.

"Ruby… When I first met you, I didn't trust you at all. I thought that you were some faunus terrorist sent for me. It didn't help when you found me in the forest… And at first I thought you were just pretending to be such a dunce. But once I got to know you better.. I realized I was wrong about you. I also realized I was wrong about all faunus. You helped me open my mind. And I think that you help me grow into a better person. I can't stand thinking back to how I used to be before I met you." Weiss looked down at her hands that still held Ruby's as she continued to speak "I want to continue to be with you… and continue to grow with you. Ruby, you're so impulsive, childish, hyperactive and immature… but… for some reason, I find it so endearing… and a little charming. Ruby, I…. like you. More than a friend. And I understand if you don't feel the same way but-"

"I DO!" He suddenly shouted, the employees and patrons of the shop once again staring at them. Although this time neither of them could find it in themselves to care.

"Weiss, I like you so much! And I HAVE liked you! I mean, it's super obvious…"

Weiss sighed "yeah, you were pretty obvious about it" She smiled at him. "To be honest, I've also liked you for a long time, but I was worried about my family, my father specifically. So I repressed how I felt."

"What changed your mind then?"

"Blake did, actually. She helped me realize that I could have what I wanted without worrying about my family"

Ruby blushed a little at hearing Weiss talk about him like that, 'what she wanted' and he was the thing she wanted!

"But that reminds me!" Weiss suddenly spoke, "If you and I…. decide to take our relationship to the next level.. it has to remain a secret! We can't be public about it. My father…"

"I understand, Weiss." Ruby smiled as he adjusted his right hand to hold Weiss'. "But we do have to tell my sister and Blake"

"Of course we will" she smiled back at him

There was a bit of a silence between them. Weiss expected Ruby to take the lead and ask her out but once again, she was reminded of how dense this boy is. She rolled her eyes and began to speak

"Ruben.. would you like to be… my boyfriend" she asked as her face steadily grew red. She's known that he liked her even before Blake told her. She knew he liked her even before he told her himself just now. And yet she still felt nervous and scared that he would refute her.

"YES!" Ruby shouted

Before Weiss could respond an employee of the shop came up to them and spoke to Weiss

"Ma'am you and your friend cannot stay here if you continue to create a scene"

"Fine, we're just about done anyways. Come on, Ruby" she said as she placed money on the table, making sure to leave a generous tip as she was in a good mood. Ruby grabbed the last few of his cookies and got up to leave with Weiss.

* * *

The walk back to the airship docks were quiet but comfortable. As the airship landed and opened its doors, a large amount of students began pouring out. Ruby and Weiss stepped onto the airship to find they were the only ones on it. As they sat down, Ruby slung his arm over Weiss. Weiss blushed a bit and leaned into him.

"So," Weiss began "Since tomorrow is Team Day, I was thinking Sunday we could go shopping for something for you to wear at the dance"

"Can't I just wear my uniform? It's pretty fancy"

"You are not accompanying me to a dance wearing a school uniform" Weiss deadpanned.

"Whatever" Ruby smiled. He nuzzled into Weiss a little as he wrapped his other arm around her.

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Hm?"

"Can I…. uh… Can I uhm… Can I… Kiss… You…. I mean! We're all alone on the airship so it's not li-"

Weiss cut him off by grabbing his cloak and kissing him on the lips. Their first kiss was perfect. Although Weiss had initiated it, Ruby quickly took the lead and continued kissing her as he cupper her face with his left hand. When they finally pulled apart, Weiss spoke

"Ruby, have you done this before?"

"Uhm. I mean, yeah, mostly during kissing games. I mean, that's what middle-schoolers do haha"

"Oh." Weiss seemed a little disappointed

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just, that was my first kiss. I was sort of hoping it was yours as well…"

"Oh…. Well, technically it wasn't my first kiss… But it really felt like it. All the other people I've kissed have been in awkward situations with a bunch of other people watching and laughing. This was different. This was the first time I ever… felt anything while kissing someone. It made my stomach feel weird… I never felt that with anyone else before"

Weiss smiled as she pulled Ruby in for another kiss. They were surprised when the airship began to dock and they realized they had spent the entire ride back to beacon kissing.

* * *

As they walked off the airship, Weiss grasped Ruby's hand and held it the entire walk back to the room. They slowly opened the door to find Blake laying on top of Yang on the floor, clearly engaged in a heavy make out session

"BLAKE!" Ruby shouted "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER?!"

Blake immediately jumped and fell off of Yang "uh uhm, we were just…."

"Hey wait!" Yang immediately interrupted Blake's stuttering "Why are you two holding hands?"

Now it was Ruby's turn to sputter incoherently. Weiss rolled her eyes and spoke for the both of them

"Well… if you must know… Ruben and I are…. Dating."

Yang and Blake stared at them with a blank expression. Suddenly Yang shot up and grabbed both Ruby and Weiss, hugging them as tightly as she could

"Oh~ I'm so happy for you two!"

"Okay, okay Yang…" Ruby wheezed as he slapped Yang's arm trying to get her to let go

Blake watched the scene with a small smile on her face. She was a little disappointed that she didn't get to play matchmaker as much as she wanted to. But she was also proud of Weiss for swallowing her pride and taking the lead in their relationship. _'It's probably for the best that they got through this on their own'_

"Oh Ruby! That reminds me! Me and you have something we need to do!" Yang suddenly said as she let go of Ruby and Weiss

"What? Right now?" He replied

"Yes! Right now! Let's go!" She said as she grabbed a bag from the desk and led Ruby out of the room

Weiss and Blake were left alone as Ruby and Yang sped out the room.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked

"Who knows. With those two, sometimes it's better not knowing"

"I suppose you're right."

Weiss sat down at the mirror and began taking her out of its usual ponytail and began brushing it as she got ready for bed.

"So?" Blake said breaking the silence as she moved from the floor to her bed

"So?" Weiss parroted

Blake rolled her eyes "What happened with you and Ruby? One hospital visit and suddenly you're dating?"

"I don't know. At first I wanted to take things slow but… Seeing you and Yang this morning made me feel… lonely. I wanted something like that for myself and I wanted it with Ruby. My advances went over his head all day so I took him to a café and decided to just be blunt about it. I can't say I'm surprised that he felt the same."

"I'll say, that boy was so clearly head-over-heels for you"

Weiss blushed a little. "Well… I suppose I couldn't have done it without you and that brute's meddling. So…. Thank you, Blake. You're a great friend" Weiss said as she turned around and smiled at Blake. Blake returned the gesture. Both Blake and Weiss didn't have many friends and they cherished the bond they had managed to form together.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

"Yang, where are you dragging me to?!"

Yang didn't reply as she pulled Ruby to a secluded area outside. She sat him down on the grass, behind a large bush, keeping them hidden from anyone who might walk by. She opened the bag she was holding and revealed Ruby's tin-lunch box. A very specific tin-lunch box that held his hormone medication.

"You need to do your shot, I knew you'd forget if I didn't remind you. And with Blake and Weiss in the room, this is the only place we have enough privacy to do it."

"Oh… yeah." Ruby said as he opened the lunchbox and began getting everything ready. He opened the needle out of the package and began to draw the medication into it. He hated this. He hated needles. But the hormone medication was incredibly important to him. He had started it when he was 14. Which in his opinion, was a little too late. He wasn't able to start it before puberty hit and as a result his chest had already grown considerably. But he still loved being on hormone treatment. The testosterone medication made his voice deeper than it used to be, it made scruffy little hairs grow on his chin and the side of his face and overall gave his face a more masculine structure. It made him feel so much more comfortable in his body than he used to be. And he was grateful to have a supportive older sister who was willing to give him the needle so he didn't have to do it himself.

As he finished drawing the medication into the needle, he handed it Yang and lowered his pants enough to expose his upper thighs. Yang cleaned a small area of his thigh with disinfectant and quickly plunged the needle into his leg, pushing down on the plunger and slowly pushing the medication into him. When she finished, she pulled the needle out, pressed a cotton ball to the small prick in his leg and finished it all off with a super-hero band-aid.

"Okay, little pup! All done!"

"Thanks, Yang" Ruby muttered as he started packing everything away.

"So~ You and Weiss huh? I'm surprised you made a move so quickly" she said raising her eyebrows up and down

"Shut up" he said punching her arm and smiling slightly "Besides, it wasn't even me. She was the one who made the first move."

"Damn, never would have expected that from the Ice Queen…"

"I know… It's great though. I feel really happy. But I'm also nervous."

"I know this is your first serious relationship but it'll be fine Ruby!"

"But I don't know how to tell her about…. This." He said gesturing to the medication he was packing away

"You don't have to tell her anything until you're ready, Ruby. And when you finally decide to tell her, I know she'll understand."

"Pffffttt. I guess you're right. I'll worry about that bridge when it falls down."

"I think you mean 'when you cross it' " Yang laughed

"Uh, yeah probably" Ruby giggled. He put the lunchbox back in the bag and got up to leave. "You coming?" He asked his sister

"Nah, I'm just gonna chill for a bit, enjoy the fresh air. You go on ahead"

"Okay~" Ruby said. He quickly leaned over and kissed Yang on the cheek. "Thanks for helping with my shot. And uh, for helping me with Weiss…" And with that he quickly sped off.

Yang laid back in the grass and looked up at the night sky. As she did so she heard a couple walk past the bush she was behind, giggling and flirting.

 _'_ _I really don't like the idea of Ruby being with Weiss. But I have to admit, it's really nice to see Ruby happy.'_ Yang sighed. She felt so conflicted. She wanted Ruby to be happy but she also didn't trust Weiss to be the one to do that for him. _'Then again, I'm so happy with Blake. Who am I to deny my brother of that same happiness. All I can do is be supportive and be there for him if things go wrong. Weiss and her family better not hurt him or I swear to god…'_

Yang laid in the grass a little longer before a familiar voice broke the silence

"Hello Yang." Yang shot up to find none other than the girl who was stressing her out. Weiss slowly sat down on the grass next to her, wearing her uniform but her hair was down.

"What are you doing here?" Yang asked

"Ruby told me where you were. I think we should have a talk"

Yang slowly sat up and waited for Weiss to speak

"Yang… I care very deeply for your brother. I want you to know… I'm just as afraid of my family hurting him as you are. It's the reason I refused to pursue a relationship with him for this long. But I want you to know… I will do everything in my power to protect him. I won't let my family hurt him… I won't let anyone hurt him… not again." Her face fell and Yang felt a little uneasy seeing Weiss so vulnerable

"Weiss… I trust you not to hurt him. And I trust you to protect him." She slowly reached over and put her hand on Weiss' shoulder "And… Don't ever feel like what happened to Ruby is your responsibility. Ruby would've gladly died for you that day and none of us could have stopped him."

Weiss surprised Yang when she suddenly started sniffling and the tears began to fall down her face. Yang reacted the same way she did with Ruby, she pulled Weiss into a gently hug which was eagerly returned. It meant so much to Weiss to hear Yang say that. A part of her felt that Yang hated her for what happened. She knew that the only reason Yang even tolerated her was because Blake had talked her into it. She silently cried into Yang's shoulder as Yang slowly patted her back comfortingly. They stayed like that for a little longer until Weiss finally pulled back.

"Weiss, you mean a lot to my brother. So… You also mean a lot to me. We'll get through this together. As a team."

"Yeah… as a team" Weiss said as she smiled at Yang.

They walked back to the dorm room together in a comfortable silence. Before they entered the room Yang put her hand on Weiss' shoulder

"Just… make sure you put a sock on the door when you and Ruby are getting busy so Blake and I don't walk in on it" she said, finishing it with a wink.

"WH-WHAT?! SHUT UP, YOU!"

The rest of the night was spent relatively relaxing. Blake read in bed as Yang rested her head on her shoulder. Ruby sat next to Weiss playing video games as Weiss went over her school notes. He leaned his head on her shoulder and Weiss knew that she had made the right decision. Everything in her life felt so perfectly in place.

 _'_ _All that's left is it to explain the accident to Ruby…'_ She thought uneasily

Ruby also had a similar thought

 _'_ _I'm going to have to tell her about my body before our relationship gets too far…'_

* * *

 **Thank you again for the reviews/views/faves/ etc lol  
**

 **I really appreciate everyone's interest in my story!**

 **Once again, if you notice any errors or just general criticism, please let me know :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Remember when I said that this was a slice of life story?  
Remember when I said this was basically an AU set in the same universe?**

 **Just making sure lol**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Just Silently Supporting**

Ruby was currently sitting on one of the balconies of beacon. It was 6 in the morning and Ruby had never been more exhausted and awake at the same time. He woke up with really strong anxiety twisting his stomach. He sat on the ground with his legs poking through the railing and dangling off the edge of the building. He pressed his face against the railings and sighed

' _I don't understand this. What's causing the anxiety this time? It's the weekend so no classes… It's team day! That's always exciting but in a good way. Could it be… Weiss?_ '

Ruby suddenly jolted back, throwing his arms and legs in a childish temper tantrum as he shouted incomprehensible words

When he finally calmed down he fished in his pockets for his wallet. When he found it, he opened it up and pulled out a small baggie. In it was 4 little pills. His doctor had prescribed this medication as an "emergency only" medication for when he felt his anxiety was out of control. Ruby sighed as he looked at the bag.

' _Everyone gets nervous with new relationships. This is normal to feel like this. I shouldn't take them for something like this._ ' But when his stomach began twisting and turning again he began to think maybe he should just take them so he can go back to bed. Just as he began opening the small bag he heard a voice behind him

"You're up early"

Ruby jumped at the sudden voice and turned around to see Professor Ozpin

"Oh, hello Professor"

"Something troubling you?"

"Mmmmm, nope!"

"Hmm" Ozpin said as he silently stood next to Ruby, slowly drinking from his coffee and enjoying the view of the early morning sun rising.

Ruby felt incredibly awkward. Ozpin was the reason he was even in beacon, so he was definitely grateful to him and liked him. But Ruby felt like Ozpin was doing the same thing his uncle tried to do. Fill the gap of his "father figure". Ruby was born into a fatherless family. His father had taken off before he was born. When his mother remarried to Yang's father, he became quite close with his dad. But after his mom died, his dad changed. He became cold and distant. He lost his patience with Ruby a lot, they would fight and sometimes it would go too far. Eventually his dad ended up leaving him and Yang with their uncle and never came back; apparently he thought he wasn't capable of raising his kids anymore. Ruby desperately clung to his uncle in an attempt to fill the gap his father left in his life. But he quickly learned that his uncle just didn't have time for him. Most of the time he and Yang were left alone while their uncle went on hunts around the world. Yang always told him that he was a great huntsman who was saving lives. But it didn't make him feel any better. He still felt a huge gap in his life that he felt only a father could fill. But in time… Yang had completely filled the void in his life. He learned to depend on her for everything. She even taught him how to shave. Yang was his sister, but she was also his mother _and_ father figure. She was all he needed, in his opinion. So whenever someone tried to 'father' him in the least bit, it always left a bad taste in his mouth. Ruby was almost a little resentful towards the men he felt abandoned him in his life. First his blood-father, then his dad and then his uncle. He naturally felt this resentment towards any grown men who tried to help him with anything. He felt that they would disappoint and leave him just like the rest.

"Something on your mind?" Ozpin asked

"Nope, I'm just chilling" Ruby laughed

"You and Miss. Schnee seem to be getting close"

"uh, well… yeah! I think most teams have gotten close by now…"

"hmm" Ozpin hummed once again. A short silence fell over them. Ruby went back to pressing his face against the railing as he looked at the view. Even though he felt tense with Ozpin hanging out with him, the tension took his mind off the twisting of his stomach. Ruby's head snapped back to Ozpin as he suddenly began to speak, breaking the silence of the still morning.

"In my many years of a headmaster, I have seen quite a few relationships blossom between team members. Some only became stronger from it, while others let it tear their team apart. Your mother actually… Is among some of the people who have fallen in love with a teammate. I'm sure you know how that ended."

Ruby slowly shook his head as he looked up at Ozpin from his spot on the ground.

"Hm. It may not be my place to say then."

"Please!" Ruby shouted, his grip on the railing tightening. He realized he lost control of himself for a second and took a deep breath, relaxing his grip on the railing before continuing. "Please tell me… I know so little about my mom. My uncle doesn't like talking about her, even though he's her brother" Ruby said as he turned his head from Ozpin and stared at the scenery.

Ozpin sighed. "Yes, I understand Qrow has issues speaking about her. Especially on this topic. I suppose it's you're right to know. Your mother fell in love with another member of the team she lead. It was a young wolf faunus. A very capable fighter but impulsive and reckless. He didn't have very good control of his emotions. Most of them being anger. But your mother saw something in him. And I must admit, I saw it as well. He was a good person, just mislead. You must understand, he came from a time where the faunus people were treated far worse than they are today. A lot of his anger was justified but he let it consume him and become a part of who he was. Their teammates couldn't stand their relationship. Your mother and the boy fought on a daily basis. But they always made up by the end of the day. By their second year…" Ozpin hesitated before continuing. "By their second year, your mother had gotten pregnant. With you."

Ruby's jaw actually dropped. He was left speechless.

"Needless to say, you cannot be pregnant and study in a combat academy. It was far too dangerous and she was left with only two options. She decided to leave her team behind and raise you. Her teammates were left without a team and were forced into disenrollment, despite how hard we tried, it was impossible to find a new leader. The young wolf faunus wanted to become leader, he had no intention of leaving the school with your mother. And once he found out the team would be disbanded, he held a large amount of resentment for your mother. I'm not sure the details of what happened after that. All I know is that they left together to a small island. It wasn't until years later that I had learned your mother was going on missions despite never completing her training..."

Before Ozpin could continue talking, Ruby stood up and ran away. Ozpin sighed deeply and continued to enjoy the sight of the sun rising as he sipped his coffee. His face remained emotionless and still but he could feel the tightening of his throat as he felt responsible for Ruby's turmoil.

Ruby ran until he reached the other side of school. He collapsed in the middle of the sidewalk as he tried to calm his breathing and not blackout from overusing his semblance. Ruby didn't know what to do. He wanted to scream but he didn't want to attract attention. So instead he grabbed the end of his cloak and bunched it into a ball in front of his mouth. He screamed into it as hard as he could as he rolled around on the floor, kicking the air. When he had nothing left to give he laid on the ground at stared at the clouds in the early morning sky.

Ruby always blamed himself for his mother's death. He always thought he should have cried and screamed before she left for that mission. If he had begged her enough, she wouldn't have left him. But instead he hugged and kissed her and said goodbye. Yang spent a lot of nights trying to convince Ruby that it was out of his control. He started to redirect his anger at the grimm that had killed her. But in the bottom of his heart, he still felt he should have done more. Now he felt the guilt of his mother's death fall onto his heart like a cartoon anvil. He suddenly played a very big part in his mother's demise. As far as he knew, his mother was a huntress. He never knew that she didn't complete her training. She was leader of a team and then Ruby's existence popped up and ruined 4 lives, including his mother's.

' _Think of her team, they all hate you. You're existence actually ruined lives.'_

Ruby didn't feel his stomach twisting and turning anymore. Instead he felt sick in a very empty way. He wanted to cry but he couldn't. He couldn't feel anything. Once he had laid out the situation for himself… He couldn't react to it. Ruby felt emotionless.

* * *

Ruby opened his team's door and silently made his way to the bathroom. He looked at his emotionless expression in the mirror and made as big a grin as possible. He kept this up as he started shooting finger guns at his reflection while winking. Once he realized he was able to smile and be goofy, he immediately let his grin fall and went back to staring at his reflection emotionless. It was Team Day and he wasn't going to ruin it. He was a team leader and he couldn't let his team down. He already ruined one team. Ruby suddenly jumped as he heard the bathroom door gently close, Blake now standing inside with him.

"Ruby, are you okay? It's not like you to be up so early, especially on a Saturday"

Ruby smiled gently at her and laughed a tiny bit, although his laugh was so quiet and soft that it sounded more like a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just woke up to pee, I'm going back to bed now" He said as he walked past her, gently patting her arm as a silent gesture. He made his way to his bed and lay facing the wall with his eyes wide open and the blankets drawn up over his head.

Blake sighed when Ruby left the room. She knew something was wrong with him. He clearly didn't want to confide in her, so she decided to go to back to bed and talk with Yang about it later. It was only 6:40 and the alarm wouldn't sound for about another 2 hours. Both Ruby and Blake stayed awake laying in bed until the alarm rang, though neither of them said a word to each other.

Sure enough, at 9am the alarm rang. Ruby jumped down from his bed and turned off the alarm.

"ALRIGHT TEAM RUBY! GET READY FOR… BA BA DA BUUUUUM~ TEAM DAY!" Ruby shouted with forced enthusiasm.

"Do you have to be so obnoxious so early in the morning?" Weiss asked as she gazed up at him

"Yes" Ruby said as he smiled at her and used his semblance to quickly give her a kiss.

Weiss covered her mouth a little "Don't do that before you brush your teeth" she said with a light blush.

"Okay, okay" Ruby laughed as he made his way to the bathroom, Weiss stretched a little before standing up and following Ruby to the bathroom to brush their teeth.

Blake could still hear Yang snoring and rolled her eyes. She got up and shook Yang

"Yang, Yang wake up. I need to talk to you, it's important"

Yang immediately opened her eyes, as much as she could upon just waking up. "What's wrong?" She asked with a groggy but concerned voice

"I…" Blake began but was cut off by Weiss' giggling in the bathroom. Blake didn't feel like now was the time to bring up Ruby's behaviour this morning. Weiss and Ruby could come out of the bathroom at any second. "I love you" she said as she kissed Yang's cheek. "Don't be difficult this morning, okay? You know how much your brother loves our 'team days'"

Yang smiled "Yeah, okay. Wouldn't want to keep Ruby waiting" she said as she slowly pushed herself up and wiped her eyes.

* * *

As team Ruby made their way to the cafeteria for breakfast, Ruby found himself feeling much better. Although his secret relationship with Weiss prevented him from having much PDA with her, he still felt his heart pounding happily in his chest, just knowing that he was walking next to Weiss, his _girlfriend_. Ruby found that Weiss was the perfect distraction. His smile felt genuine when he was talking to her and his laughter came so easily. And when he gently gripped her hand under the table during breakfast and she returned the gesture, rubbing his hand in small circles with her thumb, he felt his heart soar. He was so enamoured with Weiss that she became his whole world when she was around.

After an hour of Saturday morning cartoons in the lounge room, team RWBY retreated back to their dormroom for the decision of what today's team day activity would be.

"I honestly got nothing" Ruby sighed

"Well we coul-" Yang started but was immediately cut off by Weiss

"The last time YOU decided our team day activity, I had to bail you and Ruben out of prison."

"It was jail, Weiss. Totally different" Yang replied but accepted her defeat.

Weiss rolled her eyes before speaking up "I suggest we go to an Opera. There's an Atlesian composer playing tonight and I have tickets" she said pulling the tickets out of nowhere and holding them up. Ruby stared at the tickets, mostly thinking about how horrible and boring it would be but she would be so happy if he went and pretended to care. Blake suddenly spoke breaking his thoughts.

"Well… I actually wanted to go to a book signing. The author J. Reedy is having a singing today only"

Ruby dramatically gasped "Everyone be quiet. No one's allowed to talk, I think I'm having an idea" Ruby said as he stood up and pulled out his scroll. After a few minutes of Ruby typing on his phone and looking at it, he started shouting

"THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO SETTLE THIS!"

* * *

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed.

"I _hate_ when we decide thing like this" she groaned

"But I love it!" Ruby said, smiling brightly as he handed Yang a large branch, approximately the size of a baseball bat. Ruby also held one as he and Yang got into position. Yang standing in her make-shift goal post made out of a medium sized rock and a nearby tree and Ruby standing about 10 feet away in front of her with a soccer ball at his feet. They both put their sticks on the ground and began spinning around them while loudly counting to ten. Weiss and Blake watched from the bench nearby. This was their teams way of deciding things when they couldn't decide what to do for team day. If Ruby won, they would do Weiss' thing and if Yang won they would do Blake's. Ruby and Yang had once made Weiss and Blake compete in a game when they couldn't decide which movie to go see. After spending what felt like hours watching them play a very boring game of chess… Yang and Ruby made an agreement to never disagree on team day ever again.

Once Ruby and Yang had finished counting to 10, they dropped their sticks and stumbled around as the world spun around them. Ruby stumbled towards the ball and kicked it as hard as he could, collapsing as he did. The ball rolled across the field slowly, only getting slower and slower as it approached Yang's goal line. Weiss and Blake were both sitting very tense and focused on the game. As much as Weiss hated it… It was the thing that would decide if they go to the opera or not. Yang threw herself dramatically to stop the ball but her dizziness caused her to miscalculate and the ball _very_ slowly rolled right past her hand and just barely made it past the goal line. Yang groaned and Ruby shot up

"DID I WIN?!" He was almost knocked over as Weiss jumped him, the only thing keeping him from falling was her arms that were tightly holding him. As his surroundings began to still and he felt the dizziness stop, he gripped Weiss's waist and lifted her up, Weiss wrapped her legs around his waist as he did. They cheered for a few seconds before Ruby turned back to Yang to find her rubbing her head and apologizing to Blake. He walked up to them with Weiss still hanging off him

"Now that I won and we know that I am the superior sibling… And I'm like, totally your hero right now Weiss" He said smiling brightly "I can tell y'all that the book signing is like way earlier than the opera. And they're close enough that we can totally do both. We could even stop for snacks in between."

"What?!" Blake shouted "How do you know that?"

"I knew the time of the opera from Weiss' tickets and I just looked up the author and his signing on the internet. Honestly, you guys are hopeless that you didn't figure it out without me" Ruby laughed

"You forbid us from speaking until we got here." Weiss deadpanned.

Ruby mumbled incoherently before saying "semantics, semantics"

Weiss sighed "You're not using the word right" She said as she finally released her legs grip on his waist, sliding off of him and immediately distancing herself a bit when she realized how close she was to him.

"So we can really do both?" Yang asked

"Would I ever lie to my best buds?" Ruby said as he shot finger pistols at them smiling. Blake was suddenly reminded of early this morning when she saw Ruby practicing this exact pose in the mirror.

"You're really amazing, Ruby" Blake said smiling at him

Ruby suddenly blushed and rubbed the back of his head "Aha~ I guess…"

* * *

Team RWBY were walking along the streets of Vale on their way to Blakes book signing. Ruby, Weiss and Yang were all amazed by how excited Blake was. She was practically skipping down the sidewalk with a book pressed tightly to her chest. They arrived at the book signing and saw a giant poster advertising for it on the window. Which only further their confusion when they walked into a practically empty book store. It was clearly set up for the signing but the small rows of chairs were all empty and the only person in the book store was one clerk.

"Are… we early?" Yang asked

"Uh… no… we're right on time…" Ruby said as he checked the time on his scroll

"I'm not surprised it's a pretty underrated book to be honest" Blake stated as they took their seat in the middle row. She kept talking, mostly gushing about the book and how amazing the author was. Ruby had completely tuned out and gently reached for Weiss' hand. She shot him a look and he sent her a pleading one. She looked around and realized that there was no one else here and relented, gently holding Ruby's robot hand. Ruby smiled and gazed back to the conversation on his left. Blake was still gushing about her book. Ruby was surprised when he glanced at his sister sitting next to him to find her actually listening and hanging off of Blake's every word.

' _Hmmm… I know Yang couldn't care less about this crap. But she cares because it's important to Blake. I should actually listen to the opera and try to care about something important to Weiss_ ' Ruby smiled but as he gazed at his sister he suddenly heard a quiet thought pop up in the back of his head _'did you know about mom dropping out?'_ He sighed a little bit and turned away from his sister staring at the ground. Weiss noticed this and pulled Ruby's hand into her lap, overlapping it with her other hand. Ruby looked at her and smiled, quickly kissing her on the cheek. Weiss released one of her hands from Ruby to slap him lightly and glared at him.

Suddenly a person walked into the store and sat at the front, Blake immediately perked up as the incredibly average looking middle aged man began to speak about his book. Most of it was gibberish and incredibly boring to Weiss, Ruby and Yang. It didn't help that this man had a horribly dull voice and just kept droning on and on and on about metaphors and this and that. Ruby couldn't figure out who the hell would give this boring piece of mold a book signing? If Blake wasn't on a team, she would be the only person here. Ruby released his hand from Weiss' grip and slung his arms over the back of Weiss' and Yang's chair, but subtly let his right arm wrap around Weiss a little. Weiss shifted a bit into Ruby and blushed. She was really enjoying this little bit of PDA. She never would have thought that she would come to beacon and fall in love with a faunus. If she had told her younger self this, she probably would collapse from shock. But right now… it felt so perfect. She loved how forward Ruby was with his emotions and affection. She hoped that with time, she could learn to be a little more open with her emotions like Ruby was.

Yang was in hell. Boring, boring hell. She tried, she really tried. But somewhere along his droning and mumbling, she had completely tuned out. By the time she realized it and tried to tune back in, she found herself completely lost. But Blake seemed really happy by it. Suddenly Yang got a little nervous. She started eyeing the author and taking him all in…

' _Definitely not Blake's type… I got nothing to be jealous about. Then again… He's an author… Does that give him more points? I mean… wouldn't this guy be like a boy band member to Blake?'_ Suddenly Yang got very jealous. _She_ never made Blake as giddy as she is now. _She_ never had Blake hanging off her every word with stars in her eyes. Yang wrapped her arm around Blake tightly. Silently proclaiming her relationship with Blake to the author.

When the author finally finished speaking, Blake shot up and practically ran to the front to have the author sign her book. Ruby and Weiss watched Blake with one eyebrow raised. Still a little taken back by Blake enthusiasm. Yang however watched Blake run off with red eyes. Ruby could feel the heat start to radiate off his sister. He glanced at her and then glanced at Blake. The pieces slowly fitting together… He grinned and adjusted his left arm to wrap over his sisters shoulders, releasing his hold on Weiss to lean over towards his sister.

"How much you wanna bet he puts his hotel room number in her book? I mean, she's just waiting for him to ask her if he can hit it so she can say yes" Ruby recoiled from Yang as her skin reached a painful temperature. She quickly shot up and stormed over to Blake.

Ruby began giggling and Weiss rolled her eyes

"You shouldn't get her worked up like that."

"After all the times she's messed with us and made horrible jokes, you're really sticking up for her?"

"Good point."

Blake jumped a little when Yang suddenly appeared. She threw her arm over Blake and began to speak

"Heya! I haven't read your book because I don't really read… But my _girlfriend_ sure loves it" she said glaring a little at him "She tells me about it a lot in bed together"

"Yang!" Blake shouted as she punched her side

The author laughed a little "I'm happy your girlfriend liked my book so much and decided to show up. I was pretty relieved when I saw you four sit down at my signing. I was beginning to think no one would show" Yang felt bad. This guy was just some sweet loser who was just grateful someone showed up to his lame signing. "Uh, well I know this signing meant a lot to Blake, she's really a huge fan" Yang said as she quietly found a rock to crawl under after feeling like a complete fool. She went back to her seat and tried to ignore Ruby's smug grin.

The author and Blake talked a little more although the author had completely stopped flirting with Blake like he had been before Yang showed up. He quickly signed Blake's book and handed it back to her. He had originally wanted to put his number in it but after meeting Yang, he realized that hitting on Blake may possibly kill him. Blake seemed happy enough as they left the book store, still clutching the book to her chest with a large grin on her face. Yang was happy that Blake was happy and the fact that _she_ was the one walking away with Blake under her arm. Ruby and Weiss both felt empty now that they were back out in public and couldn't be close to each other the way Yang and Blake were.

* * *

Team RWBY decided to go out for lunch to kill time before the opera. Weiss offered to pay if they could go to the destination of her choice. Of course there was no arguing. It was a pretty fancy and expensive looking restaurant. And after one glance at the menu… They found that it was most definitely an expensive restaurant. Yang, Blake and Ruby felt very out of place. Especially Ruby. He was stared at as soon as he walked in and he could hear faint murmuring of people wondering why a faunus was in here. He felt self-conscious but Weiss held his hand and smiled at him as they sat down and suddenly he felt like nothing else mattered.

The waitress came and took their drink orders. Weiss ordered first and got wine. Yang was excited when she found out that Weiss was getting alcohol and decided to order the same. Blake was a sucker for wine and she figured she would probably never get to taste anything as expensive as what was offered here so she also went with wine. Ruby got iced tea.

The lunch went well enough, they made light conversation and enjoyed their over-priced meals. Weiss gave Yang a very heavy lecture when she attempted to order a third glass of wine.

"Oh come on Weiss! Ruby's on his billionth refill of iced tea!"

"If you want a non-alcoholic drink you can have all the refills you want" Weiss simply stated as she sipped her wine.

Ruby giggled sloppily but before the other three could react the waitress came to check on them

"Everything okay?"

"Can I get more iced tea? I really should have _chilled_ with the _hot_ peppers" Ruby giggled

"Uhm… I think you've had enough, sir" the waitress replied nervously

"What?" Yang laughed. "Why do you care how much iced tea he has as long as we pay for it?"

"It's policy to not let costumers consume too much alcohol."

"There's alcohol in the iced tea here?!" Yang nearly shouted

"Well… we only serve the long island iced tea here which has white rum in it…I just assumed that's what you wanted since the rest of you were drinking wine..." the waitress replied in a shaky voice.

"But Ruby is onl-"

"Just bring him a glass of water and the cheque please." Weiss interrupted.

The waitress nodded and quickly left. Weiss glared at Yang.

"We can't make a scene out of this. I won't have anyone here spreading the word that Weiss Schnee got an underage kid drunk"

"But it's not like-"

Weiss once again interrupted Yang "It doesn't matter what happened! They'll take a picture and make their own story. We need to just get him out of here without anyone knowing what happened"

"Well that won't be easy. Ruby can't hold his liquor."

Everyone turned and looked at Ruby who had glassy eyes and a flushed face. He smiled stupidly at them at gave them finger pistols. "It'll be okey dokey artichokey!"

Weiss sighed.

Once they paid the cheque they stood up to leave and Ruby stumbled almost knocking over the chair in front of him. Blake quickly caught him and held him tightly on his waist, keeping him as straight as possible as they walked out. If anything they looked like a clingy couple, nobody would be able to tell Ruby was actually a drunk minor.

"Let's just cancel the opera" Weiss said as they stood outside the restaurant.

"NO!" Ruby shouted he stumbled over to Weiss and held her shoulders as he looked into her eyes "Please! I've been looking forward to it since you brought it up this morning!"

"Really?" Yang asked in disbelief

Weiss sighed. It wasn't Ruby's fault he was intoxicated. If anything it was probably hers. She knew that the only reason the waitress wouldn't ID Ruby was because he was with her. He probably wouldn't have even been allowed into the restaurant if he wasn't with her. And if he was truly looking forward to this… She supposed she would do it for him.

"Fine… But you will sit quietly and Blake will have to help you walk." She said sternly. They hailed a cab and made their way to the opera. They made a quick stop at a coffee shop and Weiss bought Ruby a coffee to hopefully sober him up. As they got to the concert hall, Ruby had sobered up a little but not very much. He still couldn't walk properly but the fear of ruining Weiss' team day plans kept his mind very serious. He was relieved once they found their seats. They were on the balcony and only fit the 4 of them. _'Figures'_ Ruby thought ' _Weiss is super rich. This is her everyday life. Really makes me feel like I don't belong anywhere near her…'_ Ruby lost his train of thought as Weiss gently held his hand

"I'm really happy you wanted to come here Ruben." She smiled

Ruby felt so happy. It was amazing how much control Weiss had over his emotions.

He stayed quiet as the opera started. It was very boring. Ruby realized that this was just as bad as the author. Ruby then remembered the way Yang tried to be interested in Blake's boring thing. He then remembered when Yang got jealous and almost set the chair on fire with her semblance. He then had to try his hardest to suppress his laughter, biting his tongue as hard as he could to try to distract himself with pain. He then realized that he was _still_ not paying attention to the opera.

 _'_ _Man. I really suck at being a boyfriend'_ Ruby thought sadly. He leaned over and whispered to Weiss

"I'm going to the bathroom"

"Take Yang or Blake with you. I don't want you stumbling around here"

Ruby rolled his eyes and nudged his sister who was sitting next to him. He mouthed 'bathroom' and Yang nodded standing up with him.

They walked out, Ruby walking a little more stable but still stumbling a bit. He suddenly stopped and leaned against the wall

"Uh, the bathrooms down the hall, lil bro. I thought you had to go?"

"Nah. I just felt weird and wanted to get out of there"

"What's wrong?" She said as she approached him

"I feel bad. I'm just not into this but it's important to Weiss"

"Oh come on Ruby!" Yang said punching his arm and laughing a little "It's nothing to get upset about. Do you think I enjoyed sitting through that awful book signing? I didn't give a crap about it. I was just silently supporting Blake's happiness. It made her happy so I was just happy to be there with her. You don't actually have to enjoy this crap, it's enough that you came with Weiss and sat through it with her!"

Ruby smiled a bit and Yang smiled back at him. Suddenly his smile fell. And he stared at Yang with a dead expressionless face

"Did you know mom had to drop out of school because she got knocked up with me?"

Yang's smile also fell and an intense silence fell between them. The only sound was the faint music coming from the stage on the other side of the wall.

* * *

 **uhm, sorry it's a little cliff-hanger-y but I felt it was a good place to stop lol. The wait for the next chapter won't be too long, I promise! :)**

 **Thank you again for the support! It still makes me so happy to see people interested in my story :$**

 **And again, please point out any mistakes if you catch them. I usually re-read and fix mistakes within a day. I just get excited and post the chapters as soon as their written :$**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Let's Get Some Alone Time**

Ruby and Yang stood in the hallway of the Opera house in silence other than the faint music playing from the stage on the other side of the wall. Yang was the first to break the silence

"Ruby, who told you that?"

"Who cares, just tell me if you knew or not…" Ruby mumbled looking down

"Of course I didn't! When it comes to Summer, I know just as much as you do"

"Do you swear to me?" Ruby asked with uncertainty

"Ruby…" Yang put her hand on his shoulder before she continued speaking "I swear to you."

Ruby sighed and slid down the wall he was leaning on until he was sitting on the floor. Yang knelt down and kept her hand on his shoulder as she spoke

"Ruby, tell me who told you that"

Ruby stared at the ground, unable to keep eye contact with his sister. "Ozpin did. He said he knew her when she was in school but she had to drop out because she got pregnant with me. She wasn't even a real huntress." Most of what he had said was mumbled but Yang understood every word. She felt speechless. It was the first time that she didn't know what to say to make her brother feel better. It was hard enough to deal with all this new information but now she had to deal with it AND make help her brother deal with it at the same time. Yang was always forced to set her emotions aside to comfort her brother. She felt she had no choice but to put him first. She took a deep breath and then wrapped her arms around Ruby, pulling him into a hug. Ruby simply sat still with his hands in his lap as his sister hugged him.

"It's my fault she died…" Ruby mumbled

Yang pulled back and grabbed Ruby's face with both her hands, forcing him to look at her.

"No it's not."

"But-"

"Ruby! It's not your fault" She said as her hands gripped his face a little tighter "You didn't ask to be born, nobody exists on purpose! It's a fucked up situation but it's not your fault that it happened. Summer loved you so much Ruby. I know she didn't regret having you. She would be devastated if she knew how much you blame yourself for what happened… Ruby, you have to understand that this isn't your fault."

"Yang, move."

"No, Ruby. Not until you-"

Ruby shoved Yang off of him, knocking her to the ground and ran to the garbage can across the hallway and began throwing up. Once Yang realized what was happening she rushed over to him and rubbed his back in small circles. A minute later, Ruby had finished, wiping his mouth and turning around to face his sister. Yang wiped his eyes which had some tears in them from him just being sick.

"Feeling better?"

Ruby shook his head. "I feel a little better but overall I still feel kinda sick"

Yang pulled out some mint gum from her pocket and offered it to Ruby, which he gratefully took and put in his mouth.

"Y'know, Ruby… We can just call it a night. I can take you home and Blake and Weiss can finish the opera."

"No! It's 'Team Day'! Let's just get through this night"

"But what about-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Ruby you can't just keep it to yourself! It's not healthy and you know that I'm here for you" Yang said with a frown. She wanted to just pick up her brother, take him home, lay him in bed and pamper him until he felt better. But she knew that babying him forever wasn't a good idea and she needed to give him space to grow and figure things out on his own. Yang felt frustrated. She was basically Ruby's mother and she had no idea how to handle it most days.

"It's fine Yang… I'm fine. I honestly feel really relieved knowing that you weren't keeping that from me. I just want to get back to Weiss." And with that Ruby turned and walked away from her. But he couldn't get Yang's sad face out of his head. He knew she was just doing her best to help him, so he turned back around and hugged her quickly "Come on, let's go back" he said grabbing her hand and pulling her back into the balcony where Weiss and Blake were sitting.

As they sat down Weiss immediately noticed Ruby's red eyes. She gently grasped his hand "Are you okay?" She whispered to him

"Yeah" He whispered back "I just got sick but I'm fine now" he gently grabbed he hand and placed it his lap. He was already feeling better just being with Weiss.

The rest of the night went by without any more problems. Ruby and Yang sat still and quiet for the rest of the opera, Ruby even got to hold Weiss' hand the entire time. When it was finished, Ruby listened to Weiss gush about how amazing it was and he even told her that he thought it was great too which made Weiss happy to know that he had enjoyed it. They were walking down the streets of Vale on their way back to the airship, Ruby and Weiss walking ahead of Blake and Yang.

Blake gently pulled on Yang's hand, pulling her back and putting a little more distance between them and Ruby and Weiss.

"Is Ruby okay?" Blake asked with a concerned tone

"Yeah, he threw up in during the opera but I think he's okay"

"Well… That's not what I meant…"

Yang's eyes went wide "Wait… Did you know about…" She trailed off. It was a touchy subject and she didn't feel comfortable bringing it up with Blake, despite how close they were.

"I don't know anything. I just found Ruby in the bathroom this morning and he seemed really down. I wanted to tell you but I didn't have a chance with Ruby and Weiss being around us all day"

Yang sighed. On one hand she thought it was really sweet how much Blake cared about her little brother. It was times like this that Yang wanted to sweep Blake off her feet and marry her right then and there. But on the other hand, she couldn't stop worrying about her brother.

"Let's get some alone time when we get back to campus. There's something I think you should know" Yang said

Blake nodded and they picked up their pace to catch up with Ruby and Weiss.

The airship home had quite a few people on it. Lots of kids going back to campus after a Saturday night on the town. To say Ruby was disappointed would be an understatement. He wanted to pull Weiss away from Blake and Yang and find a corner to kiss her in. But with all these people, Weiss wouldn't even allow him to hold her hand, swatting his hand away and glaring at him when he tried. Ruby frowned and stared at the ground. Weiss felt a pang of guilt but knew she couldn't do anything to comfort him. She just hoped he understood why she was behaving so cold. It was to protect him from her family. She kept repeating this as she tried to ignore how sad Ruby looked.

* * *

When the airship docked, Blake and Yang said something about getting some 'alone time'. Weiss and Ruby didn't want to question it or pry, knowing that it would be best to just let them leave before Yang says something embarrassing.

Weiss and Ruby made their way back to the dorm room. Once they stepped inside, Ruby shut the door with his foot and immediately grabbed onto Weiss. He pulled her into him and wrapped both his arms around her waist, snuggling his head into the crook of her neck.

"Ruby! What are you doing?!" Weiss shrieked

"Come on, Weiss. I missed you today" Ruby said as he dragged Weiss over to her bed, throwing himself down on it with Weiss still wrapped in his arms. She landed on top on him and leaned up on her elbows so she could look at his face

"We've been together all day!"

"But in public! I want to hold you and kiss you… like we did last night"

Weiss blushed and looked away. Ruby leaned up and kissed her cheek before dropping his head back on her pillow. "If you want me to stop, I will"

Weiss stayed quiet and put her head on his shoulder.

"Weiss… You're happy that I'm here, right?"

"What?" Weiss asked with her head still on his shoulder

"I mean.. You're happy I exist right?"

Weiss leaned up on her elbows and looked at him "Ruby, where is this coming from?"

"I don't know." He said looking away from her

Weiss mistook this conversation for Ruby having a lack of self-confidence in their relationship. She felt terrible that she was making him question whether or not she wanted to be with him. She decided to push through her icy demeanour and show him how much he meant to her. She leaned down and met his lips with hers. She kissed him slowly and gently cupped his face with her hand. Ruby returned the gesture and gripped her waist with his hands, being sure to use extra care with his robotic hand.

Minutes later, which felt like an eternity, Weiss finally pulled away. "Ruby, I am so happy you exist and that you're here with me. I wouldn't be happy with anyone else."

Ruby smiled widely and genuinely. Although he still felt his existence had ruined lives… Weiss made him feel like the most important person in the world. And having it come from Weiss who he cared so much about… Made him feel so much better. ' _Maybe my existence does have purpose… Even if it's only to make Weiss happy. I'm glad I got to exist at the same time as her_ '

Ruby put his hand around Weiss' neck and pulled her head back down so he could kiss her.

* * *

Blake and Yang were sitting at the 'popcorn bench', completely alone. Not even the sound of students walking by could be heard.

"So? Why did you bring me here?" Blake asked. Yang had been sitting on the bench with her hands in her lap, staring her hands and not saying a word for the past couple minutes.

"Don't take this the wrong way but I need to tell you something because I have no one else to turn to" Yang said, still staring at her hands.

Blake put her hand on Yang's and stayed silent, waiting for her girlfriend to open up.

Yang took a deep breath before speaking. "It's about Ruby… More specifically, it's about our home situation."

Blake stayed quiet as she listened. Yang had only told her that her and Ruby's parent situation was a touchy subject. Blake respected her enough to drop it and wait until she was comfortable enough to talk about it.

"I can't really explain what's wrong with Ruby unless I explain everything to you so… here it is… Ruby and I aren't related by blood. I was 6 years old when Ruby and his mom came to live with us. They only told me that Ruby's father had left them the way my mom left us, they just decided to walk away and never come back. Then one day Ruby's mom, Summer… She went out on a mission and… And then we got the news that something had gone wrong and she…" Yang trailed off not able to actually say what happened, although Blake understood. "Our dad completely shut down when he found out. He started going out more and drinking a lot. He was barely home and when he was, it wasn't pleasant. He and Ruby got into a fight one day that went too far and he ended up leaving for good. Our uncle stepped in and took care of us, but all he really did was give us a place to stay, paid the bills and sent us money when we needed it. I had to become Ruby's caregiver; I basically raised him, which wasn't easy. Especially, since he blamed himself for his mother's death and the fact that our dad had left us. He thought he could have stopped Summer from leaving that day. It took a lot of late, sleepless nights to convince him that it wasn't his fault. Even to this day, I think he still blames himself. But he got a lot better. And then today happened…"

Yang took a deep breath and Blake began rubbing small circles on the hand she was holding.

"Today… Ruby found out that his mom dropped out of school because she got pregnant with him. She never actually got her huntress license. And now he's really going to believe that her death was his fault. I don't know what to say to make him feel better. I don't want him feeling like he's a mistake.."

"It's not his fault" Blake said "you know that and I know that. You said yourself that Ruby blamed himself before he even knew any of this. That's the type of person Ruby is, he always feels like he could save everyone and blames himself if couldn't. Just be there for him and Weiss and I will be there to make him feel important."

Yang smiled a bit. She had always grown up with lots of friends but Ruby was less fortunate. It made her so happy to know that Ruby now has two more people who love and care about him as much as she does.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. All we can do is be there for him and try to keep his mind distracted. Thanks Blake."

Blake smiled and leaned her head on Yang's shoulder "Ready to go back?"

Yang leaned her head on Blake's "Nah. Let's just stay here a little longer. I get the feeling Weiss is probably distracting Ruby right now from his problems, if you know what I mean"

"Hm~ I don't know if Weiss is really that type"

"Oh, I don't know. I wouldn't have guessed that you'd be the type to read smutty books but I guess we're all full of surprises" Yang said with a smirk

Blake smacked her, Yang giggled and they continued to enjoy the quiet, peaceful night.

* * *

Back in the dorm room Ruby and Weiss were still lying in her bed kissing. What had started as slow, loving, reassuring kisses had slowly gotten more and more heated. Ruby found himself acting on instinct without thinking. He wasn't sure why he was doing the things he was doing and Weiss wasn't sure why she kept allowing him to test and push his boundaries with her. It had started with him licking her bottom lip with his tongue, which she had responded to by opening her mouth and allowing his tongue to enter it. He then began moving his right hand from her waist, down to her leg and started slowly running it up her leg, edging its way under her skirt. The cold metal from his hand made Weiss shiver and gave her goosebumps. When he began edging his hand more and more up her skirt, she grabbed his hand and stopped him, but continued kissing him nonetheless. Ruby always stopped as soon as she had made it clear she wanted him to but for some reason that he didn't understand, his hands kept trying to explore more and more of Weiss' body. He flipped them over, putting Weiss under him as he continued kissing her. Weiss placed both her hands on his neck, Ruby's lips left hers as they started leaving small kisses on the side of her face and down to her neck where he started kissing her more sloppily. He made his way up to her ear and gently bit it, feeling his stomach twist in desire when she gasped. His hand continued to slide up her leg and under her skirt when they heard the door open. Weiss instinctively shoved Ruby off of her with as much force as she could manage, tossing Ruby off the bed and onto the floor. By the time the door opened Yang and Blake were met with a disheveled Weiss sitting up in her bed and Ruby who was on the floor.

Yang and Blake both smirked at the display. It was incredibly obvious that they had been up to something.

"I'm sorry, are we interrupting?" Yang asked with a teasing tone.

Both Ruby and Weiss replied at the same time.

"Yes"

"No"

Weiss glared at Ruby "I was just getting ready for bed." She said as she stood up and retrieved her nightgown from the drawer before walking into the bathroom, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Ruby watched her walk away from his position on the floor, admiring her and staring with loving eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by Yang. When Weiss closed the bathroom door, Ruby's gaze finally went to the other two in the room to find them smirking at him. He just _knew_ his sister had some stupid comment on the tip of her tongue.

"Enjoying the view little bro?"

And there is was.

Ruby groaned and stood up, walking over to his stack of games and picking out something good to play.

"Yang, if you say anything else I will slap your big head."

"Yeah yeah" Yang said, closing the front door and sitting next to her brother "Whatchya gonna play?"

"GTA. You wanna play too?"

"Yeah, why not"

Blake walked past them, petting Yang's hair lovingly as she did. She was happy to see Ruby being more himself and the dynamic between him and his sister was sweeter to her now that she knew the truth behind their relationship.

Weiss walked out of the bathroom shortly after, walking over to the mirror to brush her hair before bed, now that it was out of its usual ponytail.

"Ruby, get ready for bed soon. Don't forget we're going out tomorrow. I don't want to hear any complaints when I wake you up" Weiss said sternly

"I know~"

"Oh, you two lovebirds have a date or something?" Yang interrupted.

"What Ruby and I are doing is none of your business" Weiss replied without taking her eyes off her reflection

"We're going shopping for the dance" Ruby said not clueing into the fact that Weiss didn't want to discuss their plans.

Yang snorted. "You mean the dance that's like a million years away?"

Ruby giggled a bit "Yeah, well, you know my date is Weiss, right? The same girl who does her homework 3 weeks before it's due" Both Yang and Ruby began laughing and Weiss put her brush down and glared at them

"Well, we can't all be like you two who wait until the very last minute to get things done"

Ruby began laughing harder; he always liked Weiss' quick, mean comebacks. Yang however didn't appreciate it as much as Ruby did.

"Well we still get it done in less time than it takes you! So what does that say about you?!" Yang said not taking her eyes off the game her and Ruby were playing

"When you're grades are even half as good as mine are then maybe I'll consider you to be in the same league as I am." Weiss said as she made her way over to her bed to begin going over her notes.

Ruby began oooing in a similar fashion to how kids act when someone gets called into the principal's office.

"Shut up Ruby" Yang said laughing a bit.

* * *

The next day Ruby was woken up by a slight shaking. He squinted one eye open and was met by Weiss who was smiling at him. She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips quickly. After last night, with Ruby constantly pushing his relationship with her, she found it a little easier to show him a small fraction of the affection he was constantly smothering her with. And she found that it wasn't as hard as she thought it would be to share that affection with him.

Ruby smiled and whispered "What's up?"

"Dolt, did you forget? We're going shopping today. The other two are still asleep, so be quiet. I'd like to sneak out without your obnoxious sister making comments"

Ruby nodded and quickly kissed Weiss before getting up and stretching. They took turns in the bathroom getting ready and slipped out of the dorm without disturbing their other two teammates. They made their way to the airship, enjoying the peacefulness of the early morning. It was about 8:30am and since it was a Sunday, most students were enjoying the final day of their weekend by sleeping in. Ruby would normally never be up this early for anything or anyone. But he knew Weiss hated "wasting the day" and he wanted to make her happy so he didn't complain about how heavy his eyes felt and instead rested his head on her shoulder as they waited for the first airship of the day to dock. Weiss allowed him to keep his head on her as she looked around, paranoid that someone might see them, but calmed down a little when she realized that they were the only people up this early.

When they got into town, Weiss decided to treat them to breakfast. Ruby had joked about how he bet the restaurant would be filled with elderly people getting the early bird special. And Weiss couldn't contain her giggling when they arrived and found that they were indeed the only young people there amongst all the elderly patrons. They really got a long very well and had great chemistry. Ruby telling silly, childish jokes that always seemed to get Weiss to smile and laugh and Weiss found that Ruby was probably the only person who would respond to her snide remarks with a warm smile and a small giggle. By the time they finished their breakfast, most of the shops had begun opening their doors. They made their way to multiple shops, most of them being dress shops. Weiss had insisted that it would be easier to pick out her dress first and then find a tux for him that would match. Ruby couldn't find it in him to complain as Weiss tried on what was probably the millionth dress of the day. He was just so happy to see her modeling a different dress for him every few minutes. Although he felt he wasn't very helpful since he thought she looked great in everything she wore.

After hitting four different dress shops, Weiss finally found a dress she loved. A white dress with little bit of red in it. They then began looking for Ruby's tux, which Ruby found was incredibly boring. He hated trying on a million different suits which he felt all looked the same. He would much rather watch Weiss try on more dresses but Weiss seemed to be enjoying herself as she dressed him up in various different tuxes. He couldn't complain since he liked it when Weiss fussed over him and fixed his hair and adjusted his clothes. They found a tux for Ruby much quicker than it had taken them to find Weiss' dress. They went with a simple tux that was black and red. Weiss told him that she would order a white rose for him to wear in his tux so they would match perfectly. Ruby didn't really understand but he was happy to see Weiss getting so excited about something. It was pretty rare that Weiss got genuinely excited for something so Ruby hung off every word that came out of her mouth, smiling at her as she rambled on about this and that.

By the time they had finished their shopping it was almost noon. They were sitting at a bench in the park drinking milkshakes that Ruby had insisted on paying for despite Weiss fighting him on it. Weiss' scroll began to vibrate with a message, she opened it while listening to Ruby ramble about some insane conspiracy theory on how dentists are scam artists, she was pretty sure his hatred for dentists probably came from the fact that he grew up constantly having cavities in his mouth from all the sweets he consumes.

The message on her scroll was from Yang and she opened it hoping that there wasn't going to be any stupid remarks in it

 **Yang: Hey Icey, don't keep my brother out all day, got it? I wanna spend some time with my lil bro today**

Weiss rolled her eyes and began typing

 **Weiss: We're actually about to come back. We should be back in under an hour depending on the airship schedule.**

She was about to put her scroll away but it vibrated again, Yang replying so fast she didn't even have time to put it away

 **Yang: Just bring him back to the room! I'll be waiting there**

Weiss put her phone back in her pouch and stood up

"Come on, dolt. We should head back now"

"Alright!" Ruby said jumping up

* * *

When they arrived back to the dorm, they found Yang and Blake sitting at the desk going over homework. Yang was incredibly relieved that Ruby was finally back and she had an excuse to get away from her studying. She loved Blake but Blake was a no nonsense girl when it came to their homework and Yang couldn't stand it.

"Ruby!"

"Yang…?" Ruby replied with nowhere near the same enthusiasm his sister had.

"Come on, let's hang out! We haven't had enough sibling time lately"

"Okay" Ruby said laughing a bit. They were about to leave the dorm when Weiss pulled them both by the back of their shirts.

"Just a minute you two! Listen here, I don't want any calls from Goodwitch or the police telling me you two got into trouble. Do you hear me?! Every time you two go out with no supervision something bad happens. For once in your lives please don't behave stupidly!"

Yang scoffed "God Weiss, you're overreacting. Right, Blake? You're not worried about us are you?"

"Oh please" Weiss said before Blake had a chance to respond. "She agrees with me on this."

They all looked at Blake waiting for her answer

"Well… you two do have a habit of acting a bit stupid when you're alone with each other."

Yang sputtered in indignation.

"You hear that, dumb and dumber?" Weiss said looking at Ruby and Yang "So please promise me that you won't do anything foolish."

Yang rolled her eyes "Yeah, yeah" she waved them off and began to walk out the door

"I hope you know that I'm dumb" Ruby said to Yang as they walked out "Wait, I mean, you're dumber"

"Ruby, the fact that you said that proves that you're dumber"

Weiss sighed deeply as she watched them walk out the door.

"I have a very bad feeling. I don't think we should let them go out by themselves…"

"Weiss, you have to give them some freedom, who knows maybe they won't get into trouble, maybe they'll surprise us."

About an hour has passed. The dorm room was disturbingly calm and peaceful without Ruby and Yang in it. Even though Weiss and Blake found they could be incredibly productive without them there to distract them, they also found it a little uncomfortable how quiet the room was without Yang and Ruby yelling, running around and knocking things over.

The quietness was broken as Blake's scroll began ringing with a call from Yang

"Yang? What's up?" Blake said as she answered

Weiss subtly focused all of her attention on Blake while still looking over her notes, pretending not to notice or care about the conversation.

"What?! Yang are you serious?!" By this point Weiss had thrown her subtlety out the window and was now staring at Blake trying to read the situation

"Yeah, well good luck explaining that to Weiss…" Blake sighed "Look, we'll be on the next airship into town. Bye."

"What happened?!" Weiss asked with anxiety.

Blake sighed as she began gathering her things "in Yang's words 'don't worry because nothing is wrong but Ruby had a little accident and is in the hospital'"

"WHAT?!"

"Weiss, calm down. Yang says he's fine. Come on I'll explain it to you on the way there"

* * *

As Blake and Weiss made their way into town Blake repeated the story Yang had told her on the phone. Apparently Yang and Ruby had gone into town to hang out at the parks there, Ruby being Ruby was running around like a dog off his leash and had managed to run straight into a low hanging branch, knocking himself clean out. Normally this wouldn't be a big enough deal to warrant a hospital visit but with Ruby's condition, it was necessary.

Ruby was currently lying in a hospital bed with Yang sitting next to him looking worried and guilty. Ruby had a black eye and a small but noticeable cut on his cheek. It was only minor injuries but since he was immediately knocked out after receiving them, his aura wasn't activated and he would have to let them heal the good ol' fashion way. The room was awkward and quiet and Ruby was looking for any excuses to kill that vibe.

"Yang?"

Yang continued to stare at him in silence as she had been for the past 5 minutes.

"YANG"

"Huh?!"

"You look thirsty, why don't you go get a soda?"

"Oh, there's water here, I don't wanna leave you!"

"Go ahead, Yang. I'll be fine. Treat yourself to a nice root beer. In a frosty cold can" Ruby said, trying to sell the soda as much as he could

"A frosty cold can… You know! I wouldn't mind a root beer, how about you Rubes? You want anything?"

"I'm fine, go on now" he said smiling at her, happy that her mood seemed to be a little better

"Be right back!" She said cheerfully as she left

Ruby sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the pillow. He knew Yang was never going to hear the end of this when Blake and Weiss showed up, even though it was totally his fault. As if on cue he heard a familiar gasp and opened his eyes to find Weiss and Blake entering his hospital room.

"Oh, Ruby! Oh my goodness, just look at you" Weiss said as she rushed over to his bed and began gently running her fingers over the small cut on his cheek

"Hi, Weiss. Good to see you too. Yang's just getting a soda" Ruby said smiling. He wasn't happy about getting hurt but he definitely loved the way Weiss was worrying over him. Right after the words left Ruby's mouth, Yang entered the room with her can of root beer.

"Yang! Have you seen his face?!" Weiss said turning to her "What did the doctor say?"

"Well, no one's been in to see him yet but the nurse doesn't think it's serious" Yang said smiling

"No one's been in to see him?! And you're going out for sodas?! Yang can't you take charge of a situation for one damn minute?!"

"But I-" Yang started

Blake took this chance to walk up to Ruby's bed "Hi Ruby"

"Hi Blake" Ruby said smiling as Weiss continued her verbal onslaught.

"Yang, if you had one ounce of common sense you'd realize that these big hospitals let patients slip through the cracks all the time. You have to keep after them every second"

"But-"

"I want a doctor in here NOW!" Weiss said raising her voice "Ugh, why do I bother?" she said as she began walking out the room. "Nurse? Nurse? NURSE!"

Yang looked at Ruby "You said I could have a root beer…"

Ruby was discharged from the hospital in less than an hour after Blake and Weiss arrived, thanks to Weiss constantly harassing the doctors. Ruby had a brain scan done and nothing serious was found. Although the doctors did hit Ruby with a long lecture about how serious it could have been.

The ride back to campus was filled with various forms of "I told you so" by Weiss, she wasn't giving anyone a break, not even Blake. Needless to say, it would be a very, very long time before Yang and Ruby would be trusted to go out anywhere without proper supervision.

* * *

 **Hello~**

 **So first of all, I'd really like to apologize for the wait for this chapter. The truth is that I was hit with major writers block. I had written the first paragraph shortly after I wrote the last chapter but I felt stuck on where to go after that. Any time I sat down and forced myself to write, I wasn't happy with anything that came out and the direction I was taking my story in. I didn't feel comfortable uploading a chapter that I wasn't proud of.**

 **Also, remember that, yes, there is a plot happening but it's still really just a slice-of-life story! So I hope you guys don't find this chapter too lackluster because this sort of sweet nothingness is kinda the essence my story in general :p**

 **The hospital scene is actually from the show Daria, every time I see that episode it reminds me so much of team RWBY so I HAD to include it into my story lol!**

 **Thank you to everyone who is following, favourite and viewing my story! Thank you for your patience with this chapter! I know it was a bad time to get writers block since I had left that last one on a cliffhanger**

 **I really hope I can continue to leave you guys satisfied with every chapter I upload and hopefully my writing and story telling is improving :p**

 **See y'all next chapter 3**

 **(Reviews/Criticism is welcomed, as always!)**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 – A Hill of Banana's (AKA: Jaune IV)**

* * *

"So then the nurse told me I wouldn't have so many nosebleeds if I kept my fingers outta there" Ruby concluded to his team as they sat in the cafeteria for lunch.

"That's… great, Ruby." Weiss said behind a fake smile and gritted teeth "But not what I meant by 'how did your check up with the school nurse go?' I wanted to know what she said about your head…" Weiss was trying to not snap on Ruby so much now that they were together but she found it hard with how annoying Ruby could be.

Before Ruby could respond he was interrupted by the sudden presence of Jaune Arc

"Hello, Ruby. So I guess you've probably heard by now" Jaune said puffing out his chest.

"Heard what?"

"Oh, yeah" Yang started "I forgot to tell you that you and Jaune got scheduled to battle while you were at the nurse."

"That's right!" Jaune said pointing his finger at Ruby's face "And I have to warn you, Ruby. I've been training pretty hard with Pyrrha lately. I'm definitely going to last at least 5 minutes, maybe even win!"

Ruby smiled "I'm just really happy I get to fight against you and not some weirdo" Ruby said sheepishly "Whenever I get paired with a stranger it makes me nervous cause I'm like 'oh I hope they don't try to talk to me' and then sometimes they do and I'm like-"

"RUBY!" Weiss snapped "You're rambling AGAIN!"

"It can't be helped, Weiss! I have to speak my mind! I wear my heart on my sleeve.. okay? And and and and my mind on my other sleeve…" Ruby stuttered as he began getting worked up

"Oh for the love of" Weiss mumbled as she pinched her nose, Ruby continuing his ranting to her.

Jaune watched from the side waiting for Ruby to finish ranting, which ended up being longer than expected. After 2 long minutes, Jaune cleared his throat obnoxiously loud and caught everyone's attention.

"So, Ruby. Our fight is in 3 days! I suggest you train very hard in that short time!" He said dramatically and then turned and walked away

Ruby watched him leave with a blank expression and then turned back to his teammates

"What was I talking about?"

* * *

 **Team RWBY Dorm room – Evening**

"So…" Yang said with her head in Blake's lap as she sat up in her bed reading "Jaune seems pretty pumped about his fight with you"

Ruby shrugged, as best as he could considering that he was hanging upside down off the side of his bed with his arms and head hanging in the air "I think he's just excited that he got paired with someone he knows. That's always exciting."

"Clearly you don't remember the way Jaune gets before battles with people he knows" Weiss said from her spot at the mirror, brushing her hair which was out of its usual sideways ponytail.

"What do you mean? How does he get" Ruby asked

Yang laughed "Let's just say… get ready for a whole lotta trash talking these next few days. He loves to talk a big game whenever he fights anyone from RWBY or JNPR"

"Even though he always loses" Weiss added

"You used to go all out with him" Yang continued to Ruby "You two would have this huge fake beef; you would antagonize the shit out him. You would come up with all these crazy 'strategies' to undermine his training" Yang said laughing "One time you replaced his sword with a bread stick when he wasn't looking and he didn't notice until he got to the training room. Your 'strategies' were usually just you wasting his time with over-the-top crazy shit"

"Wow, I don't remember that at all. Last I knew Jaune, he was just some dude we met in initiation... Wait, so if we've battled before has he ever beaten me?" Ruby asked

Weiss snorted "Of course he hasn't. He hasn't beaten anyone. Ever"

Ruby began to get lost in thought, although he would never say it out loud, Weiss and Jaune were a bit similar in their combat. Besides the more classic sword weapons that they both used, they both excelled in battle when they fought alongside one of their teammates. Weiss did have the advantage of a life of strict training, which naturally made her a better fighter than Jaune. But Jaune is far better than when Ruby last remembered him. And even though things might get a little weird with Jaune being in love with his girlfriend… he was one of the only friends he had outside of his team. Ruby lost all of his memories of his time with Jaune in the past year. Ruby would prank him a lot, a bit too hard sometimes and despite how hard he tried, Jaune could never quite get the drop on Ruby the same way Ruby got him. Although they were both having fun, Jaune was more or less Ruby's punching bag. Almost like the older brother that Ruby never had, or wanted for that matter. Nonetheless Ruby did cherish his friendship with Jaune, before he lost the memories of it.

"Ruby!" Weiss snapped, Ruby jumped a bit not even noticing that she had walked up to him "Stop hanging like that! You could fall and land on your head! And I don't like all that blood rushing to your brain." Weiss said as she glared and pointed her finger at him

Ruby giggled a bit "Okay Weiss, I'll get u- woah.. woah" Ruby said as he began slipping off the bed

"RUBY!" Weiss shouted as she ran and grabbed his shoulders trying to push him back on the bed

Ruby began laughing hysterically and pulled himself back up with ease, having been faking it the whole time "Haha, you care about me!"

Weiss stomped her foot as she began shouting "You are my teammate! I'm supposed to care about you, I care about everyone on this team!"

"Haha, Weiss cares about all of us" Ruby said as he crawled into his bed

"What a loser" Yang said shaking her head at Weiss

Weiss stormed over to her bed and got under the covers as she mumbled "I swear the two of you just make me want to…"

* * *

 **2 days before the fight**

Team RWBY were currently sitting in the library, Weiss and Blake hard at work and Ruby sitting quietly, distracted by his Gameboy. Leaving Yang extremely bored and restless.

"Has Ruby changed? Discuss." Yang said deciding to stir up drama.

"Yes" Blake and Weiss both immediately responded at the same time

"Oh, what!?" Ruby said dropping his Gameboy

"You used to have a lot more modesty but now you're a total narcissist" Weiss said looking at him.

Ruby scoffed "You wanna know what? I evolve! I am constantly growing and changing and you wanna know something? If I stayed the same… Then I would be Weiss Schnee" he said pointing at her. Yang smiled broadly from the sidelines, happy that her seed of drama was sprouting so well.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss said glaring at him and forgetting her work "I have changed! And unlike you, I've changed for the better!"

"Oh, please." Ruby said dismissively before he began speaking in a high pitched voice and waving his hand around "Oh, I'm Weiss and I only yelled at Ruby 44 times today instead of 45. I really am changing for the better!"

"How dare you?! I do not speak like that!"

"You totally do!"

"No I don't!"

Once again Team RWBY's important discussion was disrupted by Jaune Arc.

"Ruby! There you are!" He commanded as she stormed over to him

"Here I am!" Ruby joked, not picking up on Jaune's angry vibe

Jaune simply stood in front of him shaking his head

Ruby's smile slowly started to fade and instead he adapted a more clueless look "What?"

"You know what." Jaune replied, he then began speaking in a high-pitched voice with a mocking tone "I really like you Jaune, I want you to win!"

Ruby snorted unable to contain his laughter "Jaune, what the hell are you talking about?"

Jaune rolled his eyes "First of all, I'm not falling for it. I almost did!"

"Fall for what?" Ruby asked, the rest of his team silently watching the interaction go down

"The girl!" Jaune shouted "The girl you hired to come and… I don't know what, I don't understand what's the, what's the deal?"

"What girl?" Ruby said laughing as he was genuinely so clueless to what Jaune was saying

"The girl" Jaune said rolling his eyes "The girl that you paid, or convinced to help me train. Is this one of your weird strategies? Is she coming back to you with information?"

Ruby simply stared at Jaune. He just literally could not comprehend the situation.

"I don't know what kind of strategy you're pulling but it's over. I'm cutting her loose." Jaune said as he pulled up a chair to sit next to Ruby

Ruby laughed and shrugged

"Yeah, Yeah. This is the whole acting thing, you always pull this with me Ruby! I used to fall for it but not anymore"

"Jaune, I have nothing to do with this" Ruby said smiling and shaking his head

"Swear to me!"

"I swear to you!" Ruby said putting his robotic hand over his heart and the other, normal hand up in the air, palm facing out.

Jaune laughed and shook his head

Ruby finally decided to try and understand the situation he was in "Jaune… You're telling me that some random girl approaches you, is nice to you and is helping you train and you think I 'paid' her… to help you? Do you hear how fucking insane you sound?" Ruby asked, barely containing his laughter.

"Oh yeah" Jaune said sarcastically "You would _never_ mess with me!"

"Some girl likes you, is nice to you and you think I paid her to do that? Are you actually insane?" Ruby asked again, feeling like the basic common sense wasn't sinking in.

"Just tell me what the endgame is. I just wanna know what it was because I'm cutting her loose."

"You know what? THAT'S the endgame right there, the endgame is that your own paranoia stops you from having, maybe, a healthy relationship in your life. Where was Pyrrha in all this? The voice of reason in your life"

"I don't need Pyrrha to help me train all the time you know…" Jaune mumbled looking away

Ruby put his hand on Jaune's shoulder "Look, Jaune. I'm telling you this as a friend. I think you should be nice to this girl and see where it goes. And never tell her any of the stuff you just told me."

Jaune scoffed "I'm sure you'd like that. If there's no secret plan, then how come you're not training right now?"

Ruby laughed "Jaune! I BEEN training! God, don't worry about me, worry about you!"

Jaune stood up and began to walk away "I'm cutting her loose, Ruby! You're plan isn't going to happen"

Just when team RWBY was sure that he was gone, he quickly reappeared and stood next to Weiss

"uh, hey, Weiss. Didn't see you there"

"Go away." Weiss replied without even looking at him

* * *

 **Team RWBY Dorm, Evening**

Yang sat on the floor watching her brother pace back and forth in anger, Weiss watched from her bed where she was sitting and Blake was giving the situation about half of her attention as she sat in a chair reading.

"Can you believe him Yang?! Can you believe him?!" Ruby shouted raising his arms dramatically

"It's not a big deal, Ruby. You're worrying over… a hill of bananas!" Yang said

"It IS a big deal, Yang! How could he accuse me of doing something so… weird?! And the worst part is that apparently I've messed with him so much in the past year that this seems believable to him. WHAT HAVE I BECOME IN THIS PAST YEAR?! I don't even know what who I am anymore!" Ruby dramatically shouted as he fell to his knees and threw his fists in the air before he suddenly regained his composure and looked at his sister "By the way, a hill of bananas? I like that… Is that like, a real expression?"

"Nope" Yang shrugged

"Wow! Good for you!" Ruby said with a large, proud smile which Yang immediately returned.

Ruby suddenly gasped "Oh my god, I saw a cat on campus today! It was just chilling!"

"That black cat?" Yang asked "I've seen it before too! It even let me pet it" she said proudly

"Lucky ducky. I tried to pet it but it ran away. Cats don't like me. I think they're too calm and I'm too excited or something, we just don't vibe"

Blake suddenly cleared her throat and Yang and Ruby both turned to find her staring at Yang, Weiss had tuned out of the conversation long ago and was now filing her nails

"Yang, aren't you forgetting something?"

Yang stared at her clueless

Blake rolled her eyes "The mail we got today"

Yang's eye's suddenly lit up with understanding before she turned back to Ruby

"Guess what?"

"It better be something cool or you shouldn't be playing guessing games with me" Ruby deadpanned

"Ding ding ding!" Yang shouted "Uncle Qrow sent over the money for you to see the eye doctor and he sent enough to buy a pair if you need them, which I think you will"

"Oh, What?!" Ruby whined, he then turned to Weiss and pointed his finger at her "This is your fault, you know!"

Weiss shrugged "I know. I only want what's best for you Ruben."

Ruby threw himself on the floor and groaned

Yang reached over to her brother and scratched the hair between his two faunus ears "I already called and set the appointment"

"Did you do it-"

"I set it so you could miss class" Yang said before her brother could finish

"I love you" Ruby said as he nuzzled into her leg

"Are you serious?" Weiss asked with glare

"It's called motivation, Weiss. What would you know about raising a Ruby? Huh?" Yang said defensively

"Yeah, Weiss" Ruby added "You know how to date Rubies not raise them"

Weiss sighed and pinched her nose as she spoke in an exhausted tone "Which period do we have to miss for his appointment?"

"3rd and 4th on Friday"

"What?!" Weiss shouted "I have a test on Friday!"

"Well I can't take him! If I miss anymore of Professor Peach's class she's going to start handing out extra assignments" Yang replied

Ruby sighed "I didn't realize I was such a bother. Poor little Ruby is only blind but no one can take him"

"I can take him." Blake said, peeking over her book

The rest of team RWBY stared blankly at her.

"Really?" Yang said, finally breaking the long silence

"Yeah, I can afford to miss those classes" She said nonchalantly before Ruby suddenly jumped into her lap cheering

"BLAKE AND RUBY DAY! Oh! We can go to the bookstore, there's a bunch of new comics I want to pick up and then we can get more points Blake! We're almost at $15 off!"

Blake suddenly grabbed the clothing on both of Ruby's shoulders as she began speaking in an equally excited tone "I know! I thought the $10 off was a rush but I can't imagine how great it'll feel to get $15 off! And at the rate we're going, we'll get that $100 shopping spree in no time!"

"Uhm…" Yang interrupted "I wanna say it's cute that you guys share a rewards card for books… But it's actually really geeky and lame"

"I agree" Weiss said as she watched with an eyebrow raised

Ruby shook his head "There's nothing lame about saving money…" he said as he stood up from Blake's lap and instead leaned on the chair she was sitting on "I wouldn't expect the two of you's to know anything about that. With you!" he said pointing to Yang "Miss. Wendy Wasteful! And you!" He said pointing to Weiss "Miss. Glynda Gotrocks. What would you two know about saving a dime?!"

"He has a point…" Blake said

The rest of the night was filled with Blake and Ruby teaming up on Weiss and Yang.

* * *

 **The Day Of The Fight**

Ruby had spent the previous day out on a date with Weiss. They had a simple date of going into town and exploring the more suburban areas. Ruby had even convinced Weiss to walk along a creek where they eventually found a couple railroads. Ruby placed a coin on the railroad and waited for a train to come by. Once it had came and left, Ruby ran and retrieved the now flat coin and showed it to Weiss. Weiss was actually really amazed by it and asked if she could keep it, which Ruby happily obliged. They enjoyed the rest of their time in the secluded area where they could be as open with their affection as they wanted.

Although none of that mattered at this moment. Ruby was currently standing outside the fighting hall with Jaune and their teams. Ruby had just defeated him in a 7 minute match. And even though Ruby would never admit it, everyone had a sneaking suspicion that Ruby had prolonged the fight to preserve Jaune's feelings, knowing that he had trained hard to last more than 5 minutes.

Ruby placed his hand on Jaune's arm "Good match Jaune. But, uh, now that it's over, just for the record. I seriously had nothing to do with that girl."

Jaune covered his face with both his hands and shook his head

"What did you do?" Ruby asked "Did you do something stupid?"

Jaune slowly nodded his head before sighing and releasing his hands "Well, it probably wasn't meant to be anyway…"

Nora smirked and leaned to murmur in Ren's ear "Well… not now that you accused her of being a spy…"

Jaune then walked over to Weiss "So Weiss, about the dance coming up I wa-"

"No." Weiss said as she walked away, Blake and Yang following.

Ruby once again put his hand on Jaune's arm "You met a nice girl, dude. You met a nice girl.." Ruby concluded shaking his head and then left to catch up with his team. Although he did notice that Pyrrha seemed a bit upset when Jaune had attempted to ask Weiss to the dance.

* * *

 **This chapter was pretty much a warm up for me to get back into writing.**

 **I know Jaune said he didn't want to be the lovable loser... but that's what he is to me. Don't read that as me not liking Jaune because I really do! But I sort of love him for being the lovable loser. I also intend to include him a bit more in my story as Ruby's friend, because I really do like the interactions between them.**

 **If any of y'all pick up on any of the vague references I make in these chapters, feel free to point them out in the reviews! I'd get exhausted if I pointed them all out.**

 **Expect the next chapter either this week or the next, but most likely this week since I ain't got nothing going on. I'm sure y'all know what the next chapter will be, I was going to write that chapter this week but I decided to do a small filler instead so I could get back into it after about a month of not being able to write.**

 **Thanks again for all the support :)**

 **I really hope you guys stay for the long run cause I intend to keep this story going basically forever. Even though most of it will be nonsense.**

 **See you guys soon!**

 **{As always feel free to leave criticism. I'm not a writer so this is a learning process for me}**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: What's Wrong With Your Eyes?**

Team RWBY were standing by the airdocks after eating a quick lunch. Weiss and Yang both wanted to see Ruby and Blake off, for different reasons.

"Okay Blake, here's the money, don't let Ruby convince you to spend it on bullshit."

"I think you know me better than that Yang" Blake said

"Ruby can be VERY persuasive" Yang said crossing her arms.

"What about your insurance?" Blake asked

"Uh… We don't have any" Yang said rubbing her head sheepishly

"Oh…"

"Yeah so… the money there can only really afford the cheaper frames… but Ruby already knows that"

Ruby and Weiss were a bit further off, hidden between a set of vending machines and a wall. Weiss had her arms looped around Ruby's neck as Ruby leaned back on the wall.

"Promise me you'll be good." Weiss said, kissing Ruby lightly at the end of her sentence

"Nah, me and Blake are gonna get into a bunch of trouble."

"Blake and I" Weiss corrected

"You and Blake are gonna get into a bunch of trouble?" Ruby asked raising his eyebrows

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes

"I'll be good" Ruby said smiling as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. Weiss quickly grabbed his face before he could pull back and kissed him. They continued for a few minutes before they were interrupted by a loud cough. They both turned to find Yang and Blake staring at them. Weiss immediately pulled away from Ruby with a deep blush, while Ruby didn't seem bothered at all.

"Okay, you two split it up." Yang said placing her hands on her hips "Weiss, we're going to miss 3rd period if we don't leave now"

Weiss's looked at her scroll and her eyes went wide when she realized how little time they had. She quickly kissed Ruby on the cheek with a quick goodbye and bolted. Yang also kissed Blake before leaving at a more leisurely pace than Weiss.

* * *

"When does the airship come?" Ruby asked Blake who was sitting next to him reading a book.

"Soon"

"How soon?"

"Very soon" Blake said glancing at him from her book.

Ruby sat quietly for a few seconds before getting bored

"Blake, did you ever read Sophie's Choice?"

"Yeah"

"Sophie's choice me or Weiss"

"I'm not 'Sophie's choice'-ing you or Weiss"

"That book was fucked up, right?"

"You read it?" Blake asked glancing up from her book

"Yeah" Ruby shrugged "I wanted to understand what people meant when they said Sophie's choice"

"You read an entire book just for the context of one phrase?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow

Ruby shrugged again "I have a lot of free time, Blake-ish"

Just then the airship arrived, Ruby ran into the airship as Blake followed him in a calmer manner. Blake had spent plenty of time with Ruby but not a whole lot of time with just the two of them. Yang had warned Blake that Ruby could be a handful to take care of but she figured Yang was just over exaggerating. Blake watched Ruby from where she was sitting, he was standing at the window watching excitedly as they airship took off through the air. She looked back to her book but got lost in thought

' _Ruby doesn't seem to get into too much trouble when we usually go out… But then… Maybe that's because Weiss is constantly yelling at him and preventing him from doing stupid things_ '

She then looked up from her book to find Ruby hanging upside down from the upper hand bar that hung from the ceiling of the airship.

"Ruby! Don't do that!"

"Aw come on, Blake!" Ruby pouted as he rocked back and forth on it

"Come on nothing! Get down! If you fell and hit your head your sister would kill me. And probably Weiss, too"

"Oh I see" Ruby said as he swung back down and sat next to Blake "So if I fell and hit my fragile little head, your biggest worry would be getting killed by Weiss and Yang?"

Blake shook her head and went back to her book "You're so much like your sister. You both manipulate people's words..."

"But you love us" Ruby said wrapping his arms around Blake and leaning his head on her shoulder

Blake sighed "Yeah"

Blake enjoyed the few peaceful minutes of silence before Ruby interrupted it.

"Let me make a proposal. Let me propose something to you.. right now.." Ruby said pulling his head off Blake's shoulder.

Blake put down her book and looked at Ruby

"And just… hear me out, okay?"

Blake silently stared at him

"Let's just…. NOT… go to the eye doctor and inste-"

"No."

"Blake! You said you would hear me out!" Ruby said with a whining tone as he threw himself in her lap

"No I didn't"

"I thought you were cool…"

"You thought wrong"

Ruby fell to the ground in disbelief.

* * *

Ruby and Blake were walking through the mall on their way to the optometrist.

"Blake, it's not too late to change your mind! We can just tell them we went and the doctor said I was fine!"

Blake suddenly stopped and faced Ruby "Ruby, why are you so against going? If your eyes are fine then you won't need glasses and we'll go home."

Ruby looked away unable to say the obvious so Blake said it for him

"But you don't want to go because you know you need glasses" She stepped closer to him and put his hand on his shoulder "Ruby, sometimes you just need to me mature abou-"

"NO~" Ruby shouted forgetting that he was in public and shouldn't be his natural obnoxious self "Don't lecture me" he said in a more controlled tone "Weiss does enough of that, I won't take it from anyone else" Ruby said whining, he then crossed his arms and looked away with a childish pout.

Blake rolled her eyes and then noticed a toy store, she checked her scroll and saw that they still had over 15 minutes until their appointment; she then looked back to Ruby who was now staring at the ground pouting. She once again rolled her eyes "Do you want to go to that toy store for few…?"

Before she even finished speaking Ruby had used his semblance and was completely gone, forcing Blake to follow the trail of roses leading to the toy store. After a few minutes Ruby had eventually found a stack of Pokémon cards next to the front window. He was staring at every packet intently, as if he had x-ray vision that could help him pick the best pack. Blake stood by waiting for Ruby to finish when she noticed two men walk by the window and point at Ruby. They then came back and both of them peeked into the store.

"Hey, kid" One of them said to Ruby

Ruby then glanced up at them with genuine curiosity

"The pet store is down there" the man said pointing across the mall "You won't find any dog toys here" He finished as he and his friend walked away laughing

Ruby then dropped his Pokémon cards and ran to the door to shout at them "Oh yeah?! Well that's great! I'm gonna go there after this and buy some dog food cause that's what I eat!"

Ruby then walked back to the Pokémon cards with a strong frown on his face. Blake having watched the entire interaction decided to chime in

"You shouldn't say stuff like that. It makes them think they're right about us"

"Blake." Ruby said keeping his eyes on the Pokémon cards "They think we're animals no matter what we do. It isn't my job to change how they think of us by being some perfect example and it isn't yours either apparently or you wouldn't be wearing that bow."

Blake was a little shocked. For someone as upbeat as Ruby, he had an incredibly cynic view on faunus issues. And he also hit a nerve by mentioning her bow, hiding your faunus traits was always considered a cowardly act by other faunus people.

Ruby then sighed "I'm sorry, Blake. They just pissed me off. Sometimes I get tired of being nice to every random stranger who thinks it's okay to talk to me like that. I get mad and I react without thinking, I think everybody does that so it's okay. But I meant what I said, I'm not going to act a certain way on the off-chance that some human might suddenly decide they're wrong about us."

"No" Blake said as she put her hand on Ruby's shoulder "I'm sorry. I shouldn't tell you how to react to something like that when I completely hide from it."

"Whatever" Ruby said smiling and shrugging. He then turned to her and hugged her, which Blake returned. When he let go he grabbed the 4 packs he had decided on and headed to the cashier

"If I get any doubles you can have one" He said to Blake "I usually give all my doubles to Weiss. She basically has her own Pokémon card collection but for some reason she denies it whenever I tell people"

* * *

Blake and Ruby walked into the optometrist's office to find it was fairly empty. There was only two other people in the waiting room. Ruby immediately noticed the children's area that had a television set up with a Gamecube.

He quickly began tugging on Blake's sleeve. "Blake, Blake, Blake! Let's go sit over there and play!" He said pointing to the two child-sized chairs in front of the television.

"How about you go play and I'll sit over here with the rest of the grown-ups" Blake said in a fake condescending tone

"Come on Blake please! Don't make me sit alone…" Ruby said pouting, drooping his faunus ears and giving her his best sad puppy eyes.

Every time Blake ever teased Weiss or Yang for crumbling to that look blew up in her face.

 **8 minutes later**

"Ruben Rose" One of the nurses called

Ruby and Blake set down their controllers and followed the nurse to the back of the office, Blake refusing to meet eyes with the other adults in the waiting room after she actually sat in those stupid child-sized chairs. She should have taken Yang's warning seriously when she told her how persuasive Ruby could be.

The nurse sat down Ruby in a dark room in front of a large machine. The nurse was fairly young and looked like she was either still a student or just finished her schooling.

"This machine is going to dilate your pupil, okay?"

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked

"It's going to blow a small puff of air into your eyes and it'll make your pupils wide and easier to look at"

"Wow, wait. A puff of air? That sounds kind of scary… Can my friend do it first so I won't be afraid?"

"I guess" the nurse laughed

Ruby then turned and looked at Blake

"Seriously, Ruby?"

"Please Blake?" Ruby said clasping his hands together "Please, please, please"

A few minutes later Ruby and Blake walked into the doctor's office with large, wide pupils. They looked a bit more out of place and comical on Blake who usually had thin, cat-like pupils.

The doctor, who was a very elderly old man, came in shortly after, greeted them and began the test. Ruby faired about as well as he did with Weiss' test. Making it through the first couple lines but struggling as soon as the letters starting getting small.

"Keep going" the doctor instructed when Ruby stopped reading

"I can't, it's too blurry"

"Just try your best"

"Doctor, what do you want me to say?" Ruby said laughing "I can't see it."

"Don't give me lip, boy. If you couldn't see it that's all you had to say."

Ruby snorted "are you serious?"

"Ruben. Be polite" Blake scolded.

Ruby grumbled and went through the rest of the test. When it was finished the doctor turned on the lights and explained to Blake, who he assumed was Ruby's older sister, that Ruby would indeed need glasses. He also advised that Ruby wear them as often as possible, although since his eyesight was fine when things were right in front of him, he could take them off while reading. The nurse from earlier was then called in to assist Ruby in finding and fitting a pair of glasses.

Before the nurse even had a chance to lead them to any of the pairs Ruby interrupted

"I'm going to tell you right now that you should just show us your cheapest pair cause we have no money"

"How much do you have exactly?" the nurse asked

"We have-" Blake began but was interrupted by Ruby throwing his hand over her mouth

"No no no, this is a trick, Blake. You tell them how much money we have and they'll tell you that's how much their cheapest pair costs. My uncle taught me all about these scams." He said and then removed his hand from her mouth and looked to the nurse "Just show us your cheapest pair"

The nurse rolled her eyes and led them to the $100-$400 pairs. Ruby settled on the cheapest glasses he could find. His uncle was never shy about letting him and Yang know about their family's finances and Ruby knew better than to spend lots of money on something when he could get it cheap, especially if he was doing it on his uncle's dime. It's part of the reason why both Yang and Ruby usually spend their summers working. Both of them wanted their own money so they could spend it frivolously without feeling guilty about it. Ruby loved buying mostly video games, while having some weird obsession with designer underwear and socks. Yang mostly spent her money on her bike and the insurance for it. Ruby always felt a little bad about this and since Yang would always give him rides when he needed them, Ruby would save some of his money and buy Yang the expensive clothes that she wanted.

After Ruby had gotten fitted with his simple pair of square, black rimmed glasses, he and Blake were on their way back to beacon. After a quick stop at the bookstore they decided to stop for a second lunch since their lunch at school was so small and quick. They stopped at a cheap sushi restaurant and used the small remainder of money to pay for it. Sushi was one of the things Ruby and Blake bonded over. Yang was definitely not a fan and although Weiss enjoyed sushi, it was never her first choice. Ruby however, loved sushi since he was little. And it goes without saying that Blake loved seafood of any kind.

As they sat in the restaurant eating, Ruby spoke up

"Blake… Don't tell Yang or Weiss that the doctor told me to wear my glasses all the time cause that's not happening."

"Why don't you just wear them?"

"Because I know me Blake, I KNOW ME. I'm clumsy and a little dumb. If I wear them all the time, I'll probably break them. And then my uncle will murder me."

"Okay, so we could get you contacts"

"NO!" Ruby shouted and banged his fists on the table, drawing lots of attention. "I can't stand the thought of contacts! I don't like things touching my eyeball! Blake, you can't tell them. I mean, I don't care if Yang knows; it's Weiss who's fucking crazy. I love her, but she's seriously crazy. But I don't want me, you and Yang to know something that Weiss doesn't cause that's mean. So that's why it's going to be our secret"

Blake sighed and stared at Ruby in silence

"Blake, agree to what I said or I swear to god… I'll forbid Yang from ever seeing you again" Ruby said seriously

Blake lost her composure and began laughing. Ruby laughed a bit too, a little proud that his joke with Blake actually hit.

"Okay, Ruby. You win. This'll stay between us. But you're wearing them during classes. No arguing."

"Fine, fine" Ruby mumbled as he shoved another sushi roll into his mouth. He then pulled out his scroll and checked the time "Huh, classes are over now, which means Yang and Weiss are probably hanging out. What do you think they're doing?"

Blake shrugged "hopefully Yang hasn't been bothering her too much"

* * *

"Weiss!" Yang shouted at Weiss who was sitting across from her at their table in library. "Sophie's Choice. Me or Blake. Go!"

Weiss stopped writing with her pen long enough to close her eyes, sigh deeply and then went back to her work without saying a word.

* * *

When Ruby and Blake stepped off the airship once it docked back at Beacon, they immediately saw both Weiss and Yang sitting at one of the benches waiting for them. Ruby and Blake walked up to them, not catching their attention until they were right in front of them. Both Yang and Weiss took a long hard look at Blake with wide eyes.

"Uhm" Yang began "What's wrong with your eyes?"

Ruby began speaking thinking that Yang was speaking to both of them "My stupid, jerky eye doctor made them all diabated"

"Dilated." Blake corrected

"Dilated" Ruby repeated

"Why?" Yang asked Blake but once again Ruby answered thinking she was speaking to both of them

"Why?! I'll tell you why! Because…" Ruby started, counting off his points on his fingers "he's a goddamn jerk… and that's about it"

"Blake, why are YOUR eyes dilated?" Yang asked

"Ruby was scared and wouldn't do it unless I did first." Blake answered

Both Yang and Weiss began smirking when they realized how Blake had probably crumbled to one of Ruby's sad puppy looks.

"Blake's the best" Ruby said hugging Blake's side and smiling widely

"So what did the optometrist say?" Weiss asked

"Well, there's good news and bad news" Ruby replied

"What's the good news?" Yang asked

"The good news is… I'm a genius". Weiss rolled her eyes at this response while Yang snorted.

"The bad news is that I'm blind"

"So did you get glasses" Yang asked

"…..yeah" Ruby answered with hesitance

"OH COME ON!" Yang shouted suddenly very excited "SHOW US!"

Ruby sighed deeply and then turned around and fumbled around in his pockets. He then pulled something up to his face while Weiss and Yang sat impatiently staring at his back. Blake had no interest in it considering she had already seen him wearing them at the doctor's office.

Ruby then slowly turned around and begrudgingly met his gaze with Weiss and Yang's. The thick, square, black rimmed lenses reflecting their faces back at them.

Yang was the first one to respond by squealing and shooting up to lift her brother up in a strong bear hug "You look sooooooooo cute!"

Yang continued to speak to Ruby in a babying voice as she hugged him. Ruby began feebly kicking his legs, trying to get Yang to drop him. Blake eventually decided it was time to split them up "Okay, Yang. Put him down. You and I have plans remember?" Blake said, reminding Yang that she had promised to spend time with Blake today after she finished with Ruby.

"Oh right!" Yang said dropping Ruby "Okay Weiss, he's all yours now. I know you've been dying to see him all day" Yang said as she threw her arm around Blake and began to leave

Weiss and Ruby watched the other two members of their team walk away. Ruby then looked to Weiss who was staring at him, more specifically his glasses, with a large smirk.

Ruby sighed and reached up to take off his glasses before Weiss grabbed his hands and stopped him.

"I think they make you look cute" Weiss said before kissing his cheek quickly.

Ruby smiled largely and stupidly "Really?" he asked dumbfounded

"Yes, dolt. Would I ever say something I didn't mean?"

"Yes. Like you when you tell me you want me to leave you alone even though you love it when I bother you." He said putting his arm over her shoulder as they began to walk away

Weiss rolled her eyes and then grabbed Ruby's arm and pulled it off her shoulder before anyone could see.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **For context, the book/film Sophie's Choice is about a women who is forced to decide which one of her children lives or dies. As tragic as the film is, it's name has become more popular than the actual story and "Sophie's Choice" Is almost like a Would You Rather.**

 **"Sophie's Choice. Me or Blake. Go!"**

 **Basically translates to "You have to pick who lives and who dies. Me or Blake"**

 **The term is incredibly popular because of how iconic the film is but that doesn't mean every single person out there has heard of it.**

 **So there you have it! In case anyone felt left out on that part.**


End file.
